Cornerstone Youth Services Nutrition and Physical Activity Capacity Building Project: Final Report

Healthy eating and physical activity habits during adolescence help support normal growth and development and underpin the establishment of lifelong health and wellbeing. The eating habits of many young people are inconsistent with dietary recommendations and, along with sedentary physical activity levels, escalate risks of current and future obesity, type 2 diabetes and mental health issues. Mental health conditions predominantly emerge during adolescence and early adulthood. People with a mental health condition are more likely to be overweight and have metabolic complications. Emerging research has demonstrated that healthy eating patterns (e.g., Mediterranean-style diets), based on whole grains, fruit and vegetables, lean protein and nuts, contribute to reducing obesity and metabolic chronic diseases, and to improving mental health. Early nutrition and physical activity interventions for young people at risk of developing a mental health condition are needed. Cornerstone Youth Services (CYS) provides social and emotional support for young people with mild to moderate mental health conditions in the greater Launceston area. CYS professionals reported a need for: 1) developing their capacity to provide brief, nutrition-related interventions; 2) greater access to referral pathways and arrangements with community and government organisations that provide specialist nutrition support; and 3) greater understanding of how they can use evidence-based resources to evaluate a client's dietary habits and provide up-to-date advice about eating for health and wellbeing. CYS is uniquely placed to support healthy eating in this at-risk target group. CYS secured a $47,000 grant from the Healthy Tasmania Fund to increase its capacity to deliver best practice interventions aimed at improving both nutrition and mental health, and reducing obesity risk. CYS approached the University of Tasmania's School of Heath Sciences (SHS) and Centre for Rural Health (CRH) to manage the full project. Drawing on their multidisciplinary expertise (including nutrition and dietetics, clinical and health psychology, exercise science, exercise physiology, and physiotherapy), the project team proposed to enhance the existing project brief by incorporating physical activity across all elements of the proposed project. Physical activity is well recognised as an essential component of physical and mental health and wellbeing.