Tamworth students are taking ownership of their health while motivating their younger classmates as part of a peer-led lifestyle program.
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Year 10 Farrer Memorial Agricultural High and Oxley High students trained to become student leaders and learned ways to improve their physical activity, diet and overall wellbeing at two Students As LifeStyle Activists (SALSA) workshops during June 2024.
Glen Innes and Narrabri high schools also took part in the program.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the SALSA program is in its second year reaching regional areas, thanks to a partnership between local non-profit HealthWISE and the Prevention Education and Research Unit (PERU) of Western Sydney.
The program is led by health university students, who teach interactive lessons to Year 9 and 10 students, who then go on to share their knowledge with younger year groups.
"I think the key is that it's the students delivering it," PERU project manager Kym Rizzo Liu said.
A "brilliant" part of the program, she said, was in the work-ready skills students developed and their exposure to university students pursuing health careers.
University of Newcastle student Sophie Cann said she enjoyed learning about this program, and "I know how much it taught me".
"Then being able to teach that to other students has further enhanced my knowledge," she said.
Ms Cann felt the impact of the program as the high schoolers asked questions that reflected what they learned.
"It was a really interesting concept to see how peers can teach other peers, and how beneficial that can be," she said.
Fourth year physiotherapy student Ned Hoath appreciated seeing "the flow-down effect" in helping the teenagers change their health habits.
The workshops were a mix of competitive games such as ultimate frisbee and group learning activities focused on nutrition and practical health knowledge.
'Excited to pass this down'
Year 10 Farrer student Liam Griffiths said students had been learning about healthy lifestyles in schools, and how to improve habits around sleeping, eating and exercise.
"I'm excited to pass this down to the Year 7 students because it teaches them how they can move forward and live a healthy lifestyle, and also have a lot of fun while doing it," Liam said.
Glen Innes High student Tahlia Husband has a strong interest in health and helping others, and aspires to become a cardiothoracic surgeon.
She enjoyed learning more about health and was particularly interested in ways to decrease screen time, and healthy food substitutes to improve nutrition.
Classmate Danika Elliott liked learning about setting SMART goals, or Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.
"They're goals that are reachable, and a guideline to make it easier to get to those goals," she said.
Students set goals for themselves around getting eight to 10 hours of sleep, eating more fruit and staying off their phones before bed.
