The Capital was the Central Victorian Rural Women’s Network’s venue of choice for a Women’s Health Week lunch event exploring health and abundance at all ages and stages.

Women had the opportunity to share what health looked like, to them, and ways to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

The knowledge and experiences shared by six guest speakers during a series of panel discussions paved the way for broader conversations.

Speakers included East Loddon P-12 College teachers Sarah Pilkington and Sarah Byrne; Inglewood District Hospital chief executive Tracey Wilson and Women’s Health Loddon Mallee executive officer Tricia Currie; and Loddon Shire citizen of the year Alice Leach and Inglewood and Districts Health Service volunteer Betty Higgs.

Ms Pilkington and Ms Byrne set the tone for the afternoon, as the first pair of speakers on the panel with master of ceremonies Jude Hannah.

The women had different approaches to physical activity, with Ms Byrne more likely to go for a run for personal enjoyment than Ms Pilkington, who preferred to exercise with friends.

“I need to be held accountable to other people,” Ms Pilkington said.

“I make sure I go and I’m not letting other people down.”

But both women cited similar motivations for keeping fit and healthy: “I just want to be the best person I can be,” Ms Byrne said.

In both instances, the teachers said their well-being wasn’t just about them. If they were fit and healthy, they said they felt better able to play active and positive roles in their personal and professional lives.

Women’s Health Week runs until Friday and is an opportunity for women to put themselves first and make good health a priority.

‘Health not being a priority’ and ‘lack of time’ are the two biggest barriers to women maintaining healthy lifestyles, according to national women’s health organisation Jean Hailes.

More than a third of the 15,262 women who responded to the organisation’s fourth annual Women’s Health Survey said they were not getting enough time to themselves on a weekly basis.

About 67 per cent of the respondents said they had been nervous, anxious or on edge in the past month, and 46.1 per cent of participants said they had been diagnosed with depression or anxiety.

Almost a quarter of the women involved in the survey said they could not afford to see a health professional when they needed one.

More than one in four women reported having sought medical advice, or needing to, about a lack of interest in sex in the past 12 months.

Weight management, healthy eating and nutrition, mental and emotional health, anxiety, and menopause were listed as the five health topics women most wanted to know about.

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