Almost Half of Australia's 20 million Population is Overweight, Report Says

SYDNEY, Australia - Almost half of Australia's 20 million people are overweight and are fast creeping up to the obesity levels of the world's fattest nation — the United States, according to a health report released.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates as many as 3.3 million people aged 18 to 64 are obese, and another 5.6 million are overweight. This equates to some two-thirds of men and nearly half of all women, the report said.

"In terms of obesity and overweight we are now at the point where the U.S. was in 1995," said Institute medical adviser Paul Magnus. "We shouldn't allow ourselves to go down the same path."

The report, which is based on data drawn from national surveys reaching back to 1980, found that the proportion of obese Australians had increased by almost 80 percent over the past 13 years.

The report said that on figures used in international comparisons, Australia's level of obesity is 17.6 percent for adults aged 25-64. That compares with 21.8 percent for the United States and 21.7 percent for Britain. There were no international figures available for adults aged 18-64.

The report warned that the expanding girths of Australians would place serious demands on the national health system, with more people likely to suffer diabetes, respiratory diseases, heart attacks, cancers and stroke.

"There are also the more practical considerations — the sizing of clothing; the sizes of chairs and seats in the home, at work and in public places such as cinemas and restaurants; the dimensions of cars and public transport vehicles," the report said.

The institute said the trend was reversible if Australians adopted "environmental and lifestyle changes," such as increased exercise and diet changes.

Scientists used self-reported measurements from people and the body mass index — a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height — to come up with the figures.

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