According to a Corangamite Shire plan, 60 per cent of males and 46 per cent of females were overweight or obese.

The data from the council’s 2013-2017 Health and Wellbeing Plan also showed that 16.4 per cent of Corangamite residents were at risk of short-term harm from alcohol consumption, which was six per cent higher than the state average.

The male life expectancy in Corangamite was 77, compared to 80 for the rest of Victoria.

The female life expectancy in Corangamite was 82, compared to 84 for Victoria.

Corangamite Health Collaborative project officer Laura Stevenson said the workshops were about the community coming together to ensure that healthy choices became the easier choices.

Ms Stevenson said the whole community was encouraged to attend the workshops and organisers wanted all pockets of the community involved.

She said through the workshop’s actions would be developed to use in towns around the shire.

“We want to empower people to make healthy choices,” she said.

“We want everyone to come.”

Ms Stevenson said one example could be members of the community working to increase water consumption.

The workshops will be facillitated by Professor Steve Allender and a team from Deakin University.

Professor Allender is director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention.

The workshops, called Choices4Change, are part of the Great South Coast Change movement that started in Portland in 2014.

Through the workshops the community will be encouraged to take ownership and develop clear plans.

The first workshop will be held at Camperdown on Wednesday, June 13 at the Killara Centre from 10am.

The Cobden workshop will be held on Wednesday, July 18 at the Senior Citizens Centre from 5.30pm.

The Terang workshop will be held on Monday, July 23 at the Terang Civic Hall from 11am and the Timboon workshop will be held at the Timboon and District Hall from 10am on Tuesday, July 24. To register phone Laura Stevenson on 0466 005 801.