Qld now Australia’s fattest state
Queenslanders are the fattest Australians.
The Health of Queenslanders Report, released on Wednesday, shows two-thirds of the state’s adults and a quarter of its children are overweight or obese.
Queensland’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young says people are eating too much of the wrong foods and not exercising enough.
“We have the sad mantle of being the heaviest state in Australia,” she said.
Many Queenslanders don’t even recognise they have a problem.
“Queenslanders have a much distorted view of their weight, particularly as big, bigger and huge is now our norm,” she said.
The report said some progress had been made in reducing smoking, especially in young men aged 18-29, but the state was still home to 500,000 smokers.
While Queenslanders still drink more than the national average, there has been a decline in the number of young men drinking at risky levels.
Dr Young said there was some good news, with immunisation rates now at 92 per cent and the state on track to meet its target of 95 per cent.
She said more must be done to tackle Queensland’s weight problem.
“We need to improve the daily eating patterns of all Queenslanders – fewer snacks, less junk food, sugary drinks and alcohol, and more fruit and vegetables,” she said.
