Lucy, Australia
I am a granddaughter to a man taken too soon from Cardiovascular disease. A carer to patients struggling with diet and exercise. A consumer exposed to our ever-growing obesogenic environment and a citizen who sees not a problem but an opportunity. We know that NCDs transcend all levels of development causing 38 million deaths annually. Health risk factors including poor diet, inadequate physical activity, alcohol and tobacco use, complicated by underlying social determinants are major contributors to this burden worldwide. As a health professional NCDs feature heavily among patients I see. While offering health advice, understanding the home & social environment has become crucial to address these factors and improve health related behaviours. Yet the doctor’s office is but one side of this story. Changing our environment to facilitate behaviour change is the real challenge before us. We are in the most innovative period of technology, design, media, philanthropy and global connectedness the world has ever seen. Solutions must recognise the who, what, where and why behind health risk factors & our environment if we wish to succeed. Innovation is boundless when we collaborate across industries and generations and sharing our stories is just the lever to do so. Lets change the narrative on NCDs by accessing our collective potential.