Australian Obesity Causes Essay

According to the National health survey, in 2014-15, 63.4% of Australians aged 18 years and over were overweight or obese that 27.9% of population were obese (about 5 million people), this number has constantly increasing for a decade (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Generally speak, obesity is able to increase the risk of type 2

Childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent in the western world as statistics show that in Australia, one quarter of children are either overweight or obese. (Australian Bureau of statistics)

A simple strategy such as losing five kilograms has the potential to result in 27% to 34% fewer cardiovascular related hospital admissions and deaths over the next twenty years. Obesity plays a major role in todays and the future societies health and health care system. Action needs to take place in order to reduce the effects of this health issue. A few examples of this are: Creating more of an awareness of the effects obesity has on individuals and the community can help reduce the growth of this health issue. Educating people and children more on how to create a healthy lifestyle including healthy eating and exercise will reduce obesity greatly and describing practical strategies that would enable Australian to loose weight and keep the weight down will also have a positive impact on society.

Childhood obesity is an alarming issue in Australia, and there is not only a rapid national epidemic in Australia and around the world. Obese children are likely to develop detrimental problems in their health and have enduring social, health and economic effects that permeate throughout adulthood. Early detection and management of childhood obesity are critical in preventing obesity during adulthood, considering it is a significant contributor to the adulthood epidemic. Thus, there are several social determinants of health that directly impact childhood obesity. It is crucial to understand the link between social determinants of health and childhood obesity to gather appropriate intervention and prevention ways to decrease the detrimental

Obesity is a public health issue that has devastatingly developed into a global epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is dramatically increasing worldwide at an appalling and intimidating rate with more than 1.9 billion adults aged18 years and older being overweight in 2014. Out of these 1.9 billion adults being overweight, 600 million were classified obese. While the issue regarding overweight and obesity are prevalent in all countries, the National Health and Medical Research Council stated that Australia’s obesity levels have been developing faster than any countries in the world over the past thirty years. Although obesity may have been primarily considered as a personal concern three decades ago; it is overwhelmingly a societal concern today in Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have measured that in 2011 and 2012, around 63% of Australian adults had the characteristics of being overweight and corpulence. That is over a quarter of the adult population in Australia being obese.

Obesity is a medical condition, in which a person’s excessive body fat accumulates to a point where it may have a negative impact on their health causing serious illness, disability and premature death. In Australia the rate of obesity has gradually increased over time, where in 2011-2012 it was found that 35.3% Australians aged 18 and over were overweight and 27.5% obese. (WHO reference)This health condition is the outcome of a range of social determinants that warrant attention. However this report will focus on and discuss two social determinants that could conceivably lead to obesity or being overweight.

Currently, in Australia, 1 in 4 children are classified as overweight or obese; and the setting surrounding children has been identified as an attribute for this rising prevalence (1). Between 1985 and 1995, Australian children aged 5-14 years, the growth of obesity and overweight epidemic doubled to reach 20% (2). Although the prevalence have plateaued over the last 17 years, the rates continue to remain high, and therefore a cause for concern.

Overweight is fast becoming an ubiquitous trait in Australia. According to the 2005 National Health Survey, 53.6% of Australians reported being overweight, defined as having a Body-Mass Index (BMI) of over 25%. (AIHW, 2005, p. 182). This is partly caused by diets which are high in saturated fat and dependent on processed foods over fresh foods. It is also caused by a continuously sedentary lifestyle, as most Australians perform their job sitting down in an office setting and are, furthermore, compelled stay tethered to their computers lest they miss an important communication.

Between 1985 and 1995 the rate of childhood overweight doubled and obesity tripled in Australia (Dieticians Association of Australia [DAA], n.d.). Results from the 2007-2008 Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey indicated that one-quarter of all Australian children, or around 600,000 children aged 5–17 years, were overweight or obese (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2009). Now in 2014, overweight and obesity rates are still on the rise therefore making it an increasingly vital public health issue in

A vast majority of the world’s population has been experiencing a decrease of physical activity ranging from children to adults, particularly in the U.S. However, in the recent years Australia has rouse to the top of being the country with the largest amount of individuals that are either obese or marginally obese. Numerous researchers have drawn connections between the amount of physical activities, received by students, especially, and their ability of cognitive thinking, concentration, memory, basically their overall academic level. In addition, physical activity further improves their physical stature, such as, stronger bones and better flow of blood and oxygen. Obesity has always been an ever present problem, which has risen in recent years, to the point of being a global issue, in numerous countries, mainly in Australia and the U.S.

The media article ‘Shocking Statistics That Illustrate Australia’s Obesity Problem’ written by Leigh Campbell in the Huffington Post Australia Newspaper on February the 24th 2016 will be discussed throughout the report (Campbell, 2016). The newspaper article focuses on the alarming increase in numbers of obese individuals in Australia and the many health issues associated.

Obesity, according to the World Health Organisation, is defined as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health’ (World Health Organisation, 2014). The Conversation article presented by Sacks and Cameron states that close to two-thirds of Australians are overweight and that unhealthy diets contribute to more disease and illness in Australia than smoking (Sacks and Cameron 2014). It then points out that obesity the tripling of obesity in Australia is not merely due to a lack of personal responsibility but with all the changes occurring in the food environment and the increasing supply of cheap, energy-filled

Crawford, D., Jeffery, R.W., Ball, K. & Brug, J. (Eds.). (2010). Obesity Epidemiology: From Aetiology to Public Health (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Introduction According to statistical data, Australia is currently more obese than America. Obesity in Australia over the past few years has been described as an ‘epidemic’ which is ‘frequently expanding’ (Ryan, 2009). Professor Jimmy Bell from the Imperial College in London who is an obesity specialist says that "Genetically, human beings haven't changed, but our environment and our access to cheap food has. We’re being bombarded every day by the food industry to consume more and more food and we are slowly losing the war against obesity.”

Obesity is classified as one of the extremely common and serious public health problems in the world. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading global risks of mortality in the world (World Health Organization, 2009). Furthermore, they are one of the major factors of for a number of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer (World Health Organization, 2005). According to NHS UK, obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more for adults, and the UK 1990 growth reference curves are used to define obesity for Children (Cole TJ, Freeman JV, Preece MA, 1995). The growing challenge of obesity of Europe countries is remarkable among Asian countries .In 2008, 1.4 billion adults (35%) aged 20 and over were overweight and 500 million were obese (11%). More than 40 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2012(World Health Organization, 2014). That is the global obesity situation. Furthermore, the obesity problem in the UK is not optimistic, the UK has the highest obesity rates among Europe countries, and this trend has strikingly increased over the recent years to the point where more than 20% of the population are now obese. (University of Birmingham, 2014) However, the obesity situation in Singapore is more worrisome. In 2010, 40% adults aged 18 to 69 were overweight and 10% were obese which is more than double the level seen in 1992. (Ministry of Health Singapore, 2010) This essay will