Obesity has emerged as one of today’s most visible yet often overlooked public health issues, despite the alarming rise in the number of individuals affected. Currently, around 65.8% of Australian adults live with obesity and overweight, with this figure increasing with age. Globally, obesity has reached epidemic proportions, reaching the 890 million mark in 2022.
What is the obesity rate in Australia?
Ranked as the second-leading contributor to preventable illness and death, obesity and overweight affect over half of Australia’s adults and a quarter of the population of kids and adolescents from 2 to 17 years of age. Specifically, 31.7% of Australian adults are living with obesity.
Understanding the factors behind this epidemic and how to counteract them is crucial.
What is obesity?
Obesity occurs when the body accumulates excessive or abnormal fat, potentially compromising health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines obesity as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 kg/m² or higher.
BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in square meters. Though it’s a simplistic measure that doesn’t differentiate between fat and muscle mass, BMI has remained a widely used tool since its introduction in 1835 due to its simplicity and affordability.
Obesity is increasing due to a range of individual, social, environmental, and cultural influences that have reshaped modern living. These include changes in food beliefs, reduced physical activity, and the physiological and genetic factors that influence our weight.
Our diets are filled with excess energy, saturated fats, and simple carbohydrates, while our professional and leisure activities have become more sedentary. This combination fuels the obesity crisis. On a basic scientific level, obesity results from an energy imbalance. When energy intake exceeds expenditure, fat accumulation occurs.
Today’s food environment exacerbates the problem: energy-dense, unhealthy foods are readily available, affordable, and heavily marketed, leading to overconsumption. Simultaneously, modern lifestyles, characterized by sedentary jobs and environments unfriendly to physical activity, have reduced energy expenditure.
What is the difference between obesity and overweight?
The terms “overweight” and “obese” both refer to ranges of weight considered unhealthy for a given height, but they differ in degree. Both are measured using Body Mass Index (BMI), derived from an individual’s weight and height.
| OBESITY | OVERWEIGHT |
| Obesity is more severe, and it applies when someone has a BMI of 30 or above. This suggests a higher accumulation of body fat, which carries a greater risk of health issues such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. | Overweight refers to a BMI between 25 and 29.9. This indicates that a person has more body weight than is considered healthy for their height, but not to the extent of being classified as obese.
|
| Rate of Australian adults
living with obesity |
Rate of Australian adults
living with overweight |
|
31.7%
|
34% |
Source: https://www.obesityevidencehub.org.au/collections/trends/adults-australia
The health risks of obesity
Obesity is a complex, chronic disease that significantly increases the risk of various health issues, including:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
- Certain cancers
- Kidney disease
- Gallbladder disease
- High blood pressure
- Elevated cholesterol
For individuals with a BMI of 40 kg/m² or higher, the risk of developing diabetes rises by 43%, compared to an 8% risk for those with a healthy BMI. Oxford University research reported that moderate obesity may shorten life expectancy by 3 years while severe obesity by up to 10 years.
Find out how healthy your weight is by using our BMI calculator tool.
"Disclaimer: BMI is a simple tool to approximate one's body fat measurement only. It does not take into consideration the difference between fat and muscle mass. Please consult your health professional for a more accurate body mass index assessment."BMI Calculator
Results
What are the Risk Factors for Obesity?
Here are some of the risk factors for obesity:
- Lack of physical activity: more than 1/3 of the Australian adult population reported low levels of physical activity. Exercise is crucial in helping keep your weight at healthy levels.
- Unhealthy eating habits: consumption of too much food, too much-unsaturated fats, and a lot of added sugar can make you overweight.
- High-stress levels: prolonged periods of stress can trigger the release of hormones such as cortisol that can make you store fat and eat more.
- Not getting enough sound sleep: research has shown that not getting enough good-quality sleep can either make us overeat or not recognise when we are full.
- Some health conditions: metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome are some of the health conditions that may cause weight gain
- Genetics: researchers have found at least 15 genes that can influence obesity and predispose people to be heavier.
- Medicines: some medicines may cause weight gain through the disruption of the chemical signals that tell your brain you are hungry. These include antidepressants, antipsychotics, beta blockers, glucosteroids, and insulin.
- Environment: not having access to parks and facilities for physical activity, lack of access to supermarkets and stores selling healthy food; oversized food portions, and aggressive food advertising that encourages the consumption of unhealthy, high-fat, high-sugar foods can lead to a sedentary lifestyle.
How To Prevent Obesity?
The gradual escalation of the obesity epidemic, unlike a swift wildfire, has woven its roots deep into societal, environmental, and governmental fabrics, making its combat more complex. However, there’s a rising momentum in obesity prevention initiatives, advancing steadily towards impactful change. It’s essential for every sector of society – from governments to schools, businesses, non-profits, communities, individuals and families – to embrace positive changes. Our goal is to reshape policies and foster an environment where making healthy choices is the natural default.
This section of our website delves into effective obesity prevention strategies, echoing expert advice from leading governmental bodies, professional groups, and public health advocates. Here, you’ll discover overarching recommendations for pivotal areas such as family settings, early childcare, educational institutions, workplaces, healthcare organizations, and broader community-level changes. These changes are aimed at simplifying the adoption of healthier choices in food and activity.
Moreover, each segment of our site offers links to practical toolkits, guidelines, and additional resources, enabling the implementation of these strategies. As the field evolves, we’re committed to updating our site with the latest in obesity prevention tactics, grounded in solid evidence and expert insights.
Please note, while our recommendations primarily reflect U.S. expert guidance, alternative approaches might be necessary in different global contexts to enhance food and physical activity environments. Key focus areas include:
- Embracing healthier food (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and proteins) and beverage choices.
- Limiting intake of unhealthy options like refined grains, sweets, potatoes, red meats, processed meats, and sugary drinks.
- Encouraging increased physical activity.
- Reducing screen time, including television and other sedentary activities.
- Improving sleep quality.
- Managing and reducing stress.
Best Obesity Exercises for Weight Loss
Some of the best exercises for losing weight include the following:
- Walking – convenient and free with no equipment to purchase, walking is easy even for beginners. As a start, you can aim to walk for at least 30 minutes 3-4 times per week.
- Running or jogging – studies reveal that jogging and running can burn visceral or belly fat. If running or jogging is hard on your joints, find surfaces that are friendlier to your knees such as a grassy park or trail.
- Cycling – whether done indoors on a stationary bike or outdoors on a regular bike, cycling is a relatively low-impact exercise.
- Resistance training – weight training not only builds strength and muscle mass, it also elevates your resting metabolic rate or your body’s capacity for burning calories while resting. You can strength train with body weight, free weights, machines, or elastic bands.
- Interval training – this is training for short bursts of intense exercise followed by periods of rest in between. Studies show that interval training lets you burn more calories while spending less time exercising.
- Swimming and aquatic exercises – water activities take advantage of your body’s buoyancy in water and let you exercise in two planes of motion at once.
- Yoga and Pilates – while not conventionally considered weight-loss exercises, yoga and Pilates are beginner-friendly activities that a lot of people find enjoyable to do. Both also have tremendous mental health benefits.
Benefits of Exercise for Obesity
Exercise is by far the cheapest and most accessible treatment for obesity. But how much do we need for weight prevention and weight loss?
For many years, we have focused heavily on the current guideline of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week as the magic number. However, recent studies suggest that this amount does not lead to weight loss. We need to perform 300-420 minutes per week, or 60 minutes per day, of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for meaningful weight loss.
Sounds like a lot? Get help in getting started.
Fight back against Obesity with Exercise
Unsure of where and how to start using exercise to fight obesity? Feel free to contact our Exercise Physiologists at Healthstin in Melton by calling 1300 090 931 today.
Our EPs can help you achieve these guidelines for weight loss by prescribing and delivering tailored exercise programs; setting attainable and realistic short- and long-term goals; providing ongoing exercise advice; providing ongoing exercise advice; structure appropriate aerobic exercise regardless of any limitations or health conditions; focusing on behavioural and lifestyle changes, and working with your family members and holding group meetings for additional support.
Our Allied Health Clinic in Melton, as well as our other locations, features both a Hydrotherapy pool for water-based training and a well-equipped gym for land-based exercise. This means you don’t have to travel to two venues to benefit from a more holistic approach to training.
Obesity is a preventable condition that can be avoided or managed through lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity. Finding an exercise you enjoy doing regularly is key to losing weight and keeping it off. Exercise, along with a good diet and following the other strategies outlined above, can help you fight back against the risks of obesity.
