A worrying trend has been identified in the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics report for 2007-2008. It shows that 37% of Australians overweight and one quarter of Australians are classified as obese. This marks a significant increase from the last time Body Mass Index data was surveyed in 1995. In this survey data from 22,000 Australians was examined.
Australian women tipped the scales, with 55% found to be overweight or obese, which indicates a 6% increase.
Men showed an increase of 4% since 1995 and now 68% of Australian men are overweight or obese.
Children are also getting fatter with data showing that 17% of Australian kids are overweight or obese.
Despite the rise in average weight two thirds of study participants reported that they exercise for fitness, with walking reported as the most popular exercise.
So how does this happen? Australians are now topping the list of Western countries when it come to overweight and obesity, which is a such shame. Not only does being overweight or obese increase your chances of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer it places our health care system under enormous strain. At the rate we’re going Australia will hit a massive health care crisis in the coming decades unless the government implements wide spread preventative strategies now.
Unfortunately most Aussies get their nutritional information from television adds and other forms of sponsored media. We may be getting added vitamins with our bread/sports drinks/health bars but is that really all we’re getting. Many people have lost focus of what a healthy diet really looks like. Here’s a few tips…
If your Grandma ate it then it’s probably a good choice…
Apart from the occasional pavlova and lamington, the diet of our grandparents was far superior to ours. Their food didn’t come in packets, most things were cooked from scratch and often grown locally, so lots of fresh ingredients. So the message here is chose mostly fresh foods that you have to prepare yourself, avoid pre-packaged foods, get back into the kitchen and eat fresh!
How much food do you really need?
It’s very easy to eat pre-prepared, packaged or convenience foods. When I say convenience food I don’t just mean the burger shop on the corner, I also mean foods that have been pre-prepared, while they often save you time in the kitchen, do you really know what the ingredients are? It’s very hard to keep track of your daily intake of fat and sugar when it is added to nearly everything you buy packaged in the supermarket. So you might think you’re not eating too much in terms of quantity but when you really look at the labels you might be shocked! If you’re part of the cafe set, consider this: a slice of cafe style banana bread may have the same amount of calories as a chicken salad sandwich, would you really eat an extra meal a day?
Get back in the Kitchen
Cooking for your self and your family is a wonderful thing to do, but often busy working families just don’t have the time. I appreciate this, being busy myself. However there are lots of delicious quick recipes and healthy meals that can be made quickly using fresh ingredients that the whole family will love. Do a bit of research, buy some new cookbooks for inspiration or get some professional advice. One session with a nutritionist may change the way your family eats for years to come and with the rising rate of obesity in children isn’t it worth a little research?
If you would like the facts on food and some healthy cooking inspiration book an appointment today. Getting a good understanding of what a healthy diet looks like and how to prepare delicious food on the run will help make sure you’re not part of the statistics on overweight and obestity at the Australian Bureau of Statistics weigh in!