The move to Downsize Dubbo gathered quite a lot of publicity in the early stages. This publicity included a feature in the local paper The Daily Liberal, which covered Councillor Ben Shields announcement of the project on August 15th.
Downsize Dubbo
“Dubbo Regional mayor Ben Shields is on a mission to downsize Dubbo,” explains the Daily Liberal story.
“About 80 per cent of the Dubbo population is classified as either overweight or obese. To help combat the issue, Cr Shields is encouraging everyone to join him in the Downsizing Dubbo challenge. For eight weeks, Anytime Fitness Dubbo is giving free access to its gyms, while superfastdiet.com will provide a healthy eating plan.
“It’s odd for a mayor to be talking about making Dubbo smaller but in this case it’s highly appropriate,” Cr Shields said.
Mayor Announces The Initiative
The mayor said he was shocked to learn about the high percentage of Dubbo that was overweight. After considering his own health, he decided to join the campaign.
“It’s something we have to do. We’re turning into an obese nation,” Cr Shields said.
While the campaign runs for eight weeks, the mayor wants to make a life-long lifestyle change. He admits in the beginning it’s going to be “terrible” and that the first few weeks will be the hardest.
But, Cr Shields said he wants to feel better within himself.
Not only will exercising make the participants healthier, the mayor said it would improve productivity, make people work harder and will also boost mental health.
He’s encouraging anyone who’s interested to join him in the Downsizing Dubbo challenge.
“It might just be the spark that changes their lifestyle for the better,” Cr Shields said.
A SuperFastDiet Community Challenge
The community challenge was established by superfastdiet.com, explains the feature. Co-founder Victoria Black said it would begin at the start of September and run until October.
“We think eight weeks is ideal – long enough to get a visible result and not too long so challengers can stay focused,” she said.
“We have decided to open this offer up to the entire town completely free of charge and we are so excited to see how this will change their lives after their transformations.”
Read the rest of the Daily Liberal story here.
Want to #DoItWithDubbo? You can! Join the challenge here.
Main image, courtesy Chilby Photography.