The Olympic Games are about so much more than where we put a stadium

So, you want to live forever? As the chief executive of Queensland’s prevention agency Health and Wellbeing Queensland and a dietitian, I’m often asked for the secret to a long healthy life.

It’s not a great secret. The advice of eat well, move often and sleep remains steadfast, although it’s easier said than done due to the great health inequities in our society.

The truth is there’s a way to become immortal: win a gold medal.

The impact of Cathy Freeman’s success at Sydney 2000 is impossible to measure.Credit: Craig Golding

Great Olympic and Paralympic moments are woven into the fabric of our culture and have an immeasurable and far-reaching impact.

How could you measure the profound pride Cathy Freeman’s 400-metre gold at the Sydney Olympics brought to our nation and First Nations people? Or the joy Madison De Rozario made us feel as she broke the record in the Womens’ 800-metre T53 final at the Tokyo Paralympics?

The legacy of the Olympics and Paralympics is so much more than where we put a stadium. It’s a rare moment for a host city to invest in the future health and wellbeing of its people, and to project its values on a global stage.

The Tokyo Olympics set an ambitious target of getting 70 per cent of adult residents to participate in physical activity at least once a week, up from a rate of 54 per cent in 2012.

The year the Games were held, they reached a peak participation rate of 69 per cent. This achievement came from investing in sport facilities and green spaces that were open to public use, including schools, and promoting physical activity.

For the 2012 Olympics, London not only invested in sport and facilities, but in its young people by focusing on increasing participation in physical activity for all children. Its ‘Get Set’ education program was set up to spread the Olympic spirit in schools and educate children on the Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect. The program reached 85 per cent of all UK schools, with 89 per cent of children stating the initiative helped them develop new skills.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics’s infrastructure development was rolled out alongside numerous public health campaigns that promoted the benefits of physical activity and raised awareness of the dangers of tobacco smoking and second-hand smoke. Research found the improvements increased people’s satisfaction of urban life and their health awareness.

Tokyo set an ambitious physical activity target for its Olympic year, and almost met it.Credit: AP Photo

The 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to set up the next generation for success.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey 2022 found two in three adults, and one in four children, live with overweight and obesity in Australia. About a third of Queensland adults live with obesity, which is slightly higher than the national average. The unfettered rise in obesity rates has coincided with a decline in physical activity participation and fruit and vegetable consumption.

This crisis is not due to a lack of personal responsibility or “laziness”. Where we live, work, learn, play and age has a profound impact on our health and wellbeing. Our food systems, our ability to move through the world or move at all, are deliberately and manipulatively set up to the detriment of our health and the health of our children.

2032 is not just the countdown to the Olympics. It is the deadline we face to reverse obesity rates in children if we want to ensure they do not have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. It is a ticking clock on the explosion of chronic diseases that will put our world-class health system, and society, under increasing pressure as we face the prospect of living fewer years overall but more of those years with sickness and disability.

The Games are a beacon of hope to so many chasing that golden moment, and they can be a beacon of hope for the future of Queenslanders. I believe in an Olympic legacy that puts health first and brings long-term benefits for our children and our children’s children.

I believe in a legacy where every stadium and sports venue in Queensland serves healthy food and drink that is not only affordable but tasty too. That a healthy diet is not beyond the reach of someone due to poverty or remoteness.

I believe in a legacy where spaces to be physically active are accessible and safe for all. That we value and embrace the benefits of movement in all stages of life to grow and age well.

I believe in a legacy that builds resilience in our communities by improving their overall health and wellbeing so they can mitigate, adapt and recover from stressful events including extreme weather.

But most of all, I believe that we as Queenslanders can achieve this legacy and when billions of people from across the world look to us in 2032, our golden moment will be the promise of a long and healthy life.

Dr Robyn Littlewood is an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland and the chief executive of Health and Wellbeing Queensland.