Tasmania's Chief Health Officer Dr Roscoe Taylor is urging Tasmanians to use the free, phone-based Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service to improve their health and avoid largely incurable and potentially life-threatening diseases like type-2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Dr Taylor said the existing Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service will get additional focus over the next three months through a new promotional campaign.

 "We must eat better, move more and reduce our waist lines if we're to achieve a healthy population and a sustainable health care system," Dr Taylor said.

"Most people know this, but it's hard to achieve when we're faced with sedentary work, computer-based play and the prevalence of unhealthy food and junk food advertising."

The campaign involves television advertising, most of which will be free community service announcements, and a small number of press advertisements in free, local papers.

In addition, a mail-out will also be undertaken from this weekend, targeting people less likely to be able to access health coaching available through the private sector.

Dr Taylor said the Get Healthy Service, which is jointly funded by the Australian and Tasmanian Government, could play an important role in helping people achieve healthy lifestyle change.

"We need make healthy choices easy choices in the places we live, work and play, and empower people to take up healthier lifestyles.

"The Get Healthy coaches are university-qualified health professionals who help people set realistic health goals and achieve healthy lifestyles.

"People who join the coaching program receive up to ten coaching calls over six months at times that suit them, and with information and advice tailored to their needs.

"The results people are achieving through the Get Healthy Service show the program is effective.

"Research by the University of Sydney shows in the two years between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2012, coaching program participants achieved significant improvements in nutrition, physical activity, weight and waist measurements, with an average reduction in waist measurement of 5.9 centimetres."

Since the Service was launched in Tasmania on 1 July 2010, there have been 3,693 requests from Tasmanians wanting information and/or coaching support, and 167 Tasmanians have completed the six-month coaching program.

The free service is one of many joint Australian, State and Territory Government initiatives funded under the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health, which was set up to reduce chronic disease in Australia.

Other activities underway in Tasmania include:

• extension of the Move Well Eat Well - Primary Schools Award Program
• development of the Move Well Eat Well - Early Childhood Aware Program
• ongoing provision of the Family Food Patch program
• the new WorkCover Health and Wellbeing Advisory Service, which provides free advice to small and medium-sized workplaces seeking to make healthy choices easy and desired choices in the workplace
• development of a Healthy Workplace  toolkit, currently being piloted across a number of Tasmanian workplaces
• extension of the reach of the Australian Government's Swap It, Don't Stop It! campaign.

To contact the Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service, phone 1300 806 258, or go to www/gethealthy.tas.gov.au