Councils from throughout the Loddon Campaspe will soon ask residents about their health and recreation habits as part of an Active Living Census, launched on Wednesday.

The findings will be used to produce a report for the entire region, and individual reports for each participating local council.

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In 2014 the City of Greater Bendigo ran an active living census, which provided data to help the city secure funding for wellbeing projects. It was the first council in Australia to do so.

City of Greater Bendigo executive officer healthy Greater Bendigo Amy Brown said the opportunities and experiences of people throughout the Loddon Campaspe region varied "substantially".

Good quality local data was essential for making sure communities got facilities, infrastructure, policies, programs and services where they needed them, she said.

"The opportunities and experiences of someone in urban Bendigo are obviously really different from somebody in a town like Woodend or Maryborough, and certainly different from someone on a farm in Kyabram," she said.

"No two communities are the same, yet the data that our communities rely on to improve recreational opportunities, health behaviours and health and wellbeing outcomes really doesn't reflect the diversity of people's experience in rural and regional areas. It's either not local enough or not of high enough quality."

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City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Councillor Margaret O'Rourke said the data would allow the Loddon Campaspe to advocate for the region's needs.

"It will be a powerful tool for supporting projects that provide better outcomes in the future and help drive ongoing change in our region," Cr O'Rourke said.

Cr O'Rourke said the Loddon Campaspe region had high levels of illness that could be prevented by healthy lifestyles, such as heart disease, obesity and cancer.

The Loddon Campaspe had some of the worst health outcomes in Victoria, with higher rates of smoking and poorer diet behaviors that in other parts of the state, Cr O'Rourke said.

Bike Bendigo President Nicola Dunnicliff-Wells said there had been major improvements to the city's cycling network since 2014, when the City of Greater Bendigo completed the first Active Living Census.

The 2014 census showed walking, cycling and swimming were the most common forms of exercise in Bendigo.

Ms Dunnicliff-Wells sees a lot more parents riding with their kids in Bendigo than she used to between 2009 and 2014.

She thinks the number of cyclists in Bendigo is growing every year.

Improvements to the Back Creek Trail, road infrastructure and changes to roundabouts have all made it easier to ride, Ms Dunnicliff-Wells said.

"A major change which happened I think last year, is an underpass was put in under the McIvor Road on the Back Creek Trail that goes on from Spring Gully to Lake Weeroona," Ms Dunnicliff-Wells said.

"Crossing McIvor road was a major barrier. You ride along from Spring Gully and from McIvor Road you had to basically run the gauntlet near the railway bridge crossing there."

Campaspe, Loddon, Mount Alexander, Macedon Ranges and Central Goldfields shires will all participate in the survey.

The census will be available from May 20 to June 16 at: srcentre.com.au/our-research/active-living-census

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