So we're a bunch of fatties....

This is what the ass-end of Australia looks like. Yes, we've done it people. We've snatched the crown off the USA's head to become The World's Fattest Nation.

A new report: Australia's Future Fat Bomb, says 26 per cent of adult Australians - almost 4 million people - are now obese, 1 million more than the last calculation in 1999. That puts us ahead of the notoriously super-sized Americans, who have a 25 per cent obesity rate.

"That, unfortunately, makes us the heavyweight champions, a title we don't really want," said Professor Simon Stewart, the author of the report and head of preventive cardiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne.

"As we send our athletes off to the Olympics, let's reflect on the fact that we would win the gold medal now in the world fat Olympics if there was such a thing. The health care system is going to be overwhelmed by weight-related hospitalisations from knee replacements through to heart attacks and strokes."

Grande Mocchacino with cream and caramel sauce anyone?

Comments

[Dataceptionist]

As Dr Cindy Pan commented on the radio this morning however, this study worked from BMI's which don't discriminate between fat and muscle. They are simply a calculation of your height and overall weight.
I would like to see a more detailed study about health. I wouldn't say 26% of the people you see walking around LOOK like what we think of as obese.

[Cerry]

Dataceptionist is right - BMIs aren't actually all that accurate for some people. One of my friends swims 5 or 6 mornings a week, was about .01 of a second off the time to get into the Olympic trials, is incredibly fit, and incredibly skinny. But she's all muscle (she had a six pack for a while), so she has a BMI that says she's overweight, even though you can't find a drop of fat on her.
Not that I doubt lots of Australians actually are obese, but anything that uses BMI as its evidence is a bit dodgy

[s]

thanks for that comment, Dataceptionist. i didn't hear anything about the report (i'm in europe at the moment, but it certainly doesn't look that way to me. i only moved to sydney two years ago, but the overall impression i had was that australians are actually quite fit! (not the same impression i got when i was in the US, i might add). clearly, common sense is often flawed, but it's good to see that it's not such a straightforward thing either...

[Mel]

That picture stopped me from having Hungry Jacks for dinner. It was that simple.

[Rosie]

I have to say, I am not impressed that they used the BMI as a tool to decide that Australian's are overweight.

I agree something needs to be done to get the nation healthy, but using an antiquated tool that does not differentiate between muscle and fat, isn't the way to go about it.

And yes, according to the BMI - I am slightly obese - but according to the BVI (Body Volume Index - my doctor did it, apparently it's more accurate), I am in the lower end of the healthy range, perfect for my age.

[Cerry]

I was reading somewhere else that they based this on about 14,000 people from cities and rural locations around the country, who had their BMI (body mass index), height and waist measured. So they've created their statistics from a sample of 1.4% of the entire population.
Oh, and did I mention these people were measured by people who give free health checks in those set ups in malls on a national blood pressure screening day last year?
This information just gets more and more reliable sounding

[K]

I still feel Americans out weigh us in the sense of they have a greater population that are just like the picture above. We do have many obese people, but on the morbidly obese scale the US are Gold!

[Ophelia]

I agree with K: We may be the world's fattest country by proportion of the population, but how many overweight Americans are there? My bet is that their number actually exceeds our entire population. Australia may be bad, but we haven't quite gotten to the standards that America has.

Also agree with BMI point. The BMI is a ridiculous way to calculate health and weight. A better method would be to interview people about their diet and exercise. Any good doctor will tell you that it's okay to be overweight if you're eating well and exercising.

[Anonimouse]

Mia - is there a mailing address where people can send things to you please?
Like a PO Box or an address a the newspapers you write for? (obviously you won't give out your home address!)
As an email will not suffice...
Thanks.

[Jelica]

Anonymous you sound creepy p. We all like Mia here, but if you cant email what you want to give her, she probably doesn’t want it..

[Eve]

Maybe Anonimouse want's to send her a gift for her baby when it comes?
I wouldn't mind an addy where I could send something like that.

[Eliza]

Eve and Anon. reminded me, Mia - I wanted to know if I send my copy of your book to you (if you give us an address) with return postage included, would you autograph it and send it back to me? (This is what Dooce does :-)
I don't think it's creepy to ask that though?!

[JLo]

It mighten be creepy but surely its overstepping the boundary? Mia shares enough via her writing, if I was her I wouldnt be giving people an address or any other options for contact. This is a blog, not facebook.

[Anonimouse]

Well I'm not trying to be creepy!
Sorry if it came accross that way, Mia.

Alot of people that have blogs have addresses for people to send them things - gifts etc.
Dooce.com does, as Eliza points out! And she's one of the biggest bloggers there is!

Plus Mia is more than just a blogger; she is an author and a journalist too.

[Emma]

I'd be interested to know if the picture is actually of an Australian?!
I don’t think BMIs are accurate either, in my experience.
As for asking Mia for a postal address - I'd like to hear what Mia thinks, but I don't really see how it's creepy. It's not like someone asked for Mia’s home address! That would be creepy...
But to send mail to someone’s PO Box doesn’t equal something suspicious necessarily.

[Emma]

Also, loved your piece in the Sunday Life mag today Mia!

[Eve]

Wonder why Mia didn't post her Sunday paper/magazine articles?

[Anonimouse]

Hi Mia,
Would you mind weighing in on the address 'debate'?
Thankyou :-)

[Mia]

Thanks awfully for the kind thought but yes, I would prefer to fly some things, like addresses, under the radar. I'm sure you understand. Your comments are gift enough for me.....