The team at Moree Community Health, led by diabetes and cardiac nurse Belinda Reid, are running the Moree Muscle Muster Health Challenge for the month of September in an effort to reduce heart disease and diabetes in Moree.

With heart disease the leading cause of death in rural and remote Australia – one person suffers a heart attack every 10 minutes – the Moree Muscle Muster aims to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease locally.

“We want to motivate employees to move more and reduce their risk of heart disease and diabetes,” Moree Community Health nurse unit manager Lee Clissold said.

“Living in a rural area, like Moree, means we’re at a higher risk of hospitalisation and death from cardiovascular disease than those in metropolitan areas.”

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Cardiovascular disease describes a group of diseases and conditions that involve the heart and blood vessels. The main types of cardiovascular disease in Australia are coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure, with diabetes, being overweight or obese, lack of physical activitiy, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking the leading causes.

In order to prevent these conditions and raise community awareness of diabetes and heart disease, the Moree Muscle Muster will challenge business teams to complete the highest number of steps throughout the month of September.

At the beginning of the program, each participant will receive a free health check – including cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes risk assessment and waist measurements.

Participants will also receive free activity tracking watch to count their steps and at the end of the four weeks will have another health check to see if they’ve made improvements over that time.

The program will also include a free motivational seminar with a guest speaker and canapes, as well as a 5km fun run/walk with a healthy breakfast to conclude the challenge.

Ms Clissold said the idea is for businesses to motivate their employees to get moving, make healthier food choices and quit smoking.

“It’s a challenge to get people more active and to think about what they’re eating and the physical activity they’re doing,” she said.

“Increasing physical activity, reducing blood pressure and cholesterol are all positive health steps.

“It’s a great campaign to get behind to promote good cardiovascular health.”

Teams of three people or more must register by Tuesday, July 31.

To sign up, go to http://moree-muscle-muster.eventcreate.com. For more information, please contact Belinda.reid@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au.