Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker desperate to raise life expectancy of indigenous Australians

IF the statistics remain the same, Aboriginal men won’t live to see their 70th birthdays. Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker are doing all they can to try to change that.

LATRELL Mitchell never met his two grandfathers.

Lionel Mitchell died at 42, and Larry Goolagong at 43.

“Both of my grandfathers died of diabetes,” Mitchell said.

“My old man is 43 now, I’m proud of him to live this far. He’s got two grandkids now so that’s put a spring in his step.”

That one of the NRL’s biggest stars talks about relief that his father has made it to 43 is alarming, but so are the health statistics among Australia’s indigenous community.

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Life expectancy for indigenous men (69) and women (73) is roughly 10 years younger than the non-indigenous population, while the rates of diabetes, heart disease and chronic illness are far more prevalent.

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Walker’s mother recently passed away due to a heart condition.

It’s why Roosters centre Mitchell is standing in an outdoor basketball court in Redfern at 7pm on a cold Wednesday night, training members of the local community despite not having eaten since 10am.

It’s why Rabbitohs halfback Cody Walker is also here, despite having buried his mother just last week, while his young children wait at home

South Sydney halfback Cody Walker explains why he is helping the Indigenous community lose weight pic.twitter.com/EwRNB2yWnz

— Jamie Pandaram (@JamiePandaram) May 25, 2018

This matters. They want to be part of change.

“It is very scary, our life expectancy isn’t great,” Walker said.

“If we can make those small changes and raise that life expectancy, our grandparents and parents will be living longer, seeing their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

The pair, along with Eels pair Bevan French and Will Smith, Canberra’s Jack Wighton, former players George Rose and Ricky Walford, and Jillaroos women’s World Cup stars Caitlin Moran and Nakia Davis-Welsh are helping 29 communities across NSW in a 10-week weight

loss challenge.

Mitchell and Walker are both heading up the challenge.

Whichever team loses the most collective weight by June 1 wins the NSW Aboriginal Knockout Health Challenge, an initiative of the state government.

Players have been travelling up to five hours on days off getting to the remote towns to hold training sessions.

It’s not just about cutting weight with high cardio workouts for 10 weeks, however.

Roosters centre Latrell Mitchell on helping his community get healthy pic.twitter.com/Qtx3fkOJ6t

— Jamie Pandaram (@JamiePandaram) May 25, 2018

The players have been advising their teams about food and lifestyle choices that will have a meaningful impact for generations to come.

“I want to be a positive role model to my kids, because I didn’t have that in the town I grew up in, there weren’t too many positive role models [in Casino],’ Walker said.

“I want to change the mindset of young kids and really raise that life expectancy, effect that generational change that we need.

“My dad’s got diabetes, high blood pressure, all sorts of things.

“He was a bad smoker but he quit about 14 years ago, he still suffers from that, takes tablets every day.

“He’s made some changes and he is making great progress.

“I lost my mum two weeks ago, it’s still pretty raw.

“It was a fatal heart attack, we don’t know what caused it.”

Walker and Mitchell with the Redfern Rebels.

Walker and Mitchell are walking examples of how clean eating can change lives.

“I grew up in a small country town, I made my NRL debut at age 26 which is a bit later than everybody else,” Walker said.

“I didn’t start to make any progression in my footy career until I started nailing my health and nutrition.

“I didn’t start to make changes to my diet until I was 23, I was just eating a lot of crap that I thought was healthy for me but it wasn’t.

“Once I started to make changes in my diet, I started to make real progression in my footy.

“I wanted to be a part of this so I can encourage other Aboriginal people to make the same sort of changes.”

Mitchell, a 20-year-old who has an 11-month-old daughter, cut sugar and junk food from his diet at the start of this year and has produced stunning performances that have him on the verge of State of Origin selection.

“We’ve got to change our habits, change our ways, eat well,” Mitchell said.

“I felt like I wanted to get in and make a change and get my word out to people that it’s okay to eat healthy and exercise.”

Mitchell credits eating clean for his form this season.

One of the teams involved in the challenge, the Redfern Rebels, include a husband and wife who have already lost 28kg between them.

“Last year we had 34 participants, this year we’ve got 74,” Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service health promotion officer Adina Duncan said.

“We’ve got a 16-year-old, and a 76-year-old, and everyone works together to try to achieve something positive for ourselves.

“We’ve seen a decrease of blood pressure, better management of their diabetes, a better view of maintaining their health and striving towards achieving that.”

This 10-week course is named the George Rose Challenge, and there will be a second course run later this year, the Julie Young Challenge.

LaVerne Bellear, the chief executive of Redfern AMS added: “The program allows us to keep our community well, it provides a pathway for healthier lifestyles and longer living, all in a culturally appropriate setting.”

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