Research has shown that Australian children are at risk of becoming obese if appropriate prevention strategies are not implemented both at home and at school.  At the heart of the problem is the relative increase in children’s food intake and decrease in physical activity.  For Australian-Greek children, the risks are greater due to the fact that they are being cared for by their grandparents who as a result of language difficulties and cultural perceptions may not necessarily be receptive to the growing message that young children are at risk of becoming overweight and obese adults.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census data, there are 36,084 Australian-Greek children aged between 0-14 in the state of Victoria.  A large number of these children tend to be cared for by their grandparents of whom the majority are Greek born, retired and ageing.  They also tend to have very poor levels of proficiency in the Greek language.  This would suggest that this group would be significantly disadvantaged in their efforts to access information that is disseminated through conventional mainstream services.  This in turn has implications for Australian-Greek children whose food choices and exercise opportunities are mainly determined by their dietary habits and lifestyles of their care providers.

AGWS has delivered two project from funding that was made available by the Telstra Foundation: “Australian-Greeks Against Childhood Obesity Project” and the "National Childhood Obesity Schools Project for Australian Greeks".

Through these projects AGWS aimed to address the issue of childhood obesity amongst children of Australian Greek background in Victoria between the ages of 0-14.  It looked at the causes of childhood obesity and raised the Greek community’s awareness through the provision of linguistically appropriate information and community education to the target group, that outline appropriate preventative measures. The projects also promoted the importance of healthy eating and exercise to the Greek community through interactive workshops and offered participants the opportunity to develop healthy eating and exercise plans.