Australia: the worlds fattest nation

[Grimmace]

Obesity epidemic: We are the world's fattest
By Tamara McLean
June 20, 2008 06:50am

AUSTRALIAS obesity epidemic has been drastically underestimated, according to the latest comprehensive study showing 9 million adults are fatter than they should be.

The report says Australia is the world's most overweight nation, ahead of the supersized Americans.

Experts are now calling for extreme measures like gym discounting and denial of surgery based on body mass index (BMI) to rectify the situation.

"These might be controversial but they won't just be targeting a small sub-set of Australians," said Simon Stewart, head of preventive cardiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.

"Overweight and obese people now make up the vast majority of us and these are the drastic measures now needed to bring these numbers down."

The report, released ahead of the Federal Government's obesity inquiry, presents the results of height and weight checks carried out on 14,000 adult Australians in 2005.

It gives the most thorough picture of obesity since the AusDiab study in 1999, and Professor Stewart, the author, said it shows the burden has been underplayed.

"Based on the old data and self-reported surveys, we had thought that 7 million adults were obese or overweight, but it is actually 9 million," he said.

The report, entitled Australia's Future Fat Bomb, shows the middle-aged are leading the way, with seven in 10 men and six in 10 women aged 45 to 64 now registering a BMI of 25 or more.

An analysis of the data shows there will be an extra 700,000 heart-related hospital admissions in the next 20 years due to obesity alone.

Almost 125,000 people will die as a result, many prematurely.

"I would regard this as now the biggest threat to our future health," Professor Stewart said.

"As we send our athletes off to the Olympics let's reflect on the fact that we would win the gold medal problem now in the world fat Olympics if there was such a thing.

"We used to be down mid-table, but I'm picking that we're now the gold medal favourites."

The report calls for a national weight loss strategy on the scale of smoking and skin cancer campaigns, including subsidising gym memberships and personal training sessions for heavier people.

Wait lists for surgery could be prioritised on the basis of weight loss.

"These are some of the controversial things we need to deal with because the healthcare system is going to be overwhelmed by weight-related hospitalisations from knee replacements through to heart attacks and strokes."

Professor Ian Caterson, director of the Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise at the University of Sydney, agreed such measures were needed.

"Governments have to start thinking outside the square because as we get fatter and older as a nation things are just going to get worse," he said.

Source: Daily Telegraph

[daveyk]

hahahaha

they were just talkin avout this on e the morning news....

[DIEHARD]

This IS a national crisis. Not only consider the physical problems but emotional and psychological as well as the burden on the health system.

I can't believe that we are fatter than America, we are supposed to be the sporting nation. I thought we would have a higher level of social and recreational sport.

[titanstattman]

This IS a national crisis. Not only consider the physical problems but emotional and psychological as well as the burden on the health system.

I can't believe that we are fatter than America, we are supposed to be the sporting nation. I thought we would have a higher level of social and recreational sport.

We do have that but its wat we do at the games or wat we do after them

[kwigibo]

Having a BMI over 25 is not necessarily the horrible thing these studies suggest though. A sizeable portion of NRL forwards would be between 25-30 BMI.

[daveyk]

Having a BMI over 25 is not necessarily the horrible thing these studies suggest though. A sizeable portion of NRL forwards would be between 25-30 BMI.

According to WiiFIT my BMI is 20 which is IDEAL

bring it on

[C-Whiz]

So we can't call a fat person fat because the truth could hurt their feelings, but we can label a Nation with "obesity epidemic" and that is ok. Apparently taking up 2 seats on an aircraft doesn't mean you are "fat", just big boned and to describe a fat person as fat is discriminatory, even if it is an apt description.

At least Aussie fatty's can now claim they are eating for Australia. We love our National reps! Everyones a winner!

[kwigibo]

According to WiiFIT my BMI is 20 which is IDEAL

bring it on

I just brought up the BMI calculator and the team stats. The only player on this page

http://www.titans.com.au/index.php?page_id=320

who has a BMI under 25 is Ben Jeffrey, barely. Preston's is 28.3, he needs a diet. Stosic, Cannings and Conn are all over 30. All professional athletes in a physically demanding sport, and not from the biggest team in the league either.

It's a weight/height ratio, it takes into account no information on body composition, there's a difference between heavy and obese.

[DIEHARD]

Interesting stats. It's true the statistics would be slightly negatively skewed. But only slightly cause not everyone looks like an NRL footballer....very few.

[kwigibo]

Interesting stats. It's true the statistics would be slightly negatively skewed. But only slightly cause not everyone looks like an NRL footballer....very few.

It's not about skew, it's that the statistics don't measure the variable that they're purported to in these kind of studies. It should say 9 million Australians' weight in proportion to their height exceeds a certain arbitrary ratio, and if examined properly on a case by case basis a number of those 9 million Australians (the utilised statistics provide no information capable of determining that number) might exceed a level of excess body fat deemed healthy by consensus of the medical community and authorities.

It's ridiculous to say that almost half of Australians are fat on the basis of this data. This public's unexamined adoption of a metric as simple but useless as the BMI smacks of the kind of intellectual laziness sadly so typical of the public at large.

I'm not a patriot or a nationalist of any sort really, but I am an Australian, and if someone is going to appraise us as a whole in a negative way like this, they should do it on the basis of real facts. There are plenty of reasons to legitimately have a go at us, including for being fat. If you want to go the fat route, I'm sure you'd find some horrific stats, if you collect data that actually measures fat in any way.

The funny thing is that the author describes a call for discount gym memberships. If you hit the weights it's very likely your BMI will go up.

[Titanium_BD1103]

It's not about skew, it's that the statistics don't measure the variable that they're purported to in these kind of studies. It should say 9 million Australians' weight in proportion to their height exceeds a certain arbitrary ratio, and if examined properly on a case by case basis a number of those 9 million Australians (the utilised statistics provide no information capable of determining that number) might exceed a level of excess body fat deemed healthy by consensus of the medical community and authorities.

It's ridiculous to say that almost half of Australians are fat on the basis of this data. This public's unexamined adoption of a metric as simple but useless as the BMI smacks of the kind of intellectual laziness sadly so typical of the public at large.

I'm not a patriot or a nationalist of any sort really, but I am an Australian, and if someone is going to appraise us as a whole in a negative way like this, they should do it on the basis of real facts. There are plenty of reasons to legitimately have a go at us, including for being fat. If you want to go the fat route, I'm sure you'd find some horrific stats, if you collect data that actually measures fat in any way.

The funny thing is that the author describes a call for discount gym memberships. If you hit the weights it's very likely your BMI will go up.

Spot on mate... and thank you for clearing this one up...

Ok for those who are reading this, you need to know a few things about this piece before reading it:

- Firstly, the statements made by this Professor were done the day before he was to present the findings of the study to a federal obesity enquiry in Melbourne... he was trying to generate a fire and create a case for the government to listen... if you read the actual report into this, it says nothing of the sort.

- Secondly, the statement of 9 million is based on the idea of firstly as Kwigibo said, BMI indexes and secondly it's predictive on current trends. As many here have said, there is many people who are fit and muscular who have a BMI over 25... BMI doesn't take muscle into account.

As well, the predictive state doesn't take into account the fact that the current rate of childhood obesity is actually stablising and that while obesity is on the rise sadly, the rate is slowing compared to 5 years ago.

- Finally, the actual report written by this Professor and his team at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, which if you are really interested can be read here:http://baker.edu.au/assets/contentFi...omb_report.pdf, talks about obesity rates, but it is more about what occurs from them.

Problems such as Cardiovasular aka. Heart disease and issues with type 2 diabetes are the real cause of concern for the report, in particular the true fact that if we don't become fitter and put money into strategies to be active and healthy, we will end up with more people in hospital due to cardiovascular problems and more people dying because of it.

Now to those who want to ask how I know all this, I work for an organisation that has to look into these things on a daily basis, and I wrote an response to this for this organisation on Friday... so I had to know the full story.

Yes the rate of obesity is alarming, we are now equal to America... but this is more a case of we need to do something about it, not a name and shame game.

[Ryan]

Quiet everyone, before Rudd slaps 30% on Cadbury and Coca-Cola

[C-Whiz]

Well, the above posts are deeply enlightening in their own way, but wouldn't it just be easier just to look at people and make a decision? For those who don't have one, or are to scared to look in a mirror and make the decision for themselves, generally speaking, if you can't look down and see your genitalia, you are probably fat. If you can't look down and see your feet, you are definitely fat.

I hope this has helped clear this up.

[kwigibo]

generally speaking, if you can't look down and see your genitalia, you are probably fat. If you can't look down and see your feet, you are definitely fat.

Or pregnant and really unobservant.

[Nathalie]

I don't pay too much attention to the BMI thing because, as people on here have said, when a BMI is calculated it doesn't differentiate between muscle and fat.

And what C-Whiz said.