How Bad Is Australia’s Obesity Problem? This Interactive Map Bares All (And It Ain’t Pretty)

Australians are getting fatter year on year, and it’s causing an avalanche of health problems that are tipped to only get worse as we waddle into the next decade. This interactive infographic shows how fat each state will get in the years to come…

The interactive map below was created by the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) in collaboration with BakerIDI and The Conversation in a bid to highlight just how obese our nation is becoming:

Australia is getting fatter. Since 1980 rates of obesity have increased across the country and this infographic shows just how quickly obesity has become a major issue for Australia.

As the map shows, obesity levels in Australia are expected to balloon to around 35 percent in all states by 2015 if we continue down the same sedentary lifestyle path. Conversely, if everyone drank one less soft drink or glass of wine per day and added a 30-45 minute moderate-intensity walk to their daily exercise regime, obesity levels would drop to just 16-20 percent by 2025. This is still a far cry from 1980 when less than 10 percent of the nation was obese.

Another interesting factoid that the map highlights is Victoria’s fluctuating obesity levels: in 1995 it led the rest of the country in portliness but then fell behind NSW, South Australia and Queensland by 2007. (Must’ve been the influence of all those trendy fat-free yoghurt bars.)

You can see the map in action for yourself below:

The projected obesity rates were determined using the AusDiab data model which bases its estimates on recent measures of weight change.

“In this population, approximately one-fifth of those with normal weight or overweight progressed to a higher weight category within 5 years,” the AusDiab explains.

“Between 2000 and 2025, the adult prevalence of normal weight was estimated to decrease from 40.6 to 28.1% and the prevalence of obesity to increase from 20.5 to 33.9%.”

If you’re looking to lose weight, be sure to check out our Weight Loss tag for a bevy of healthy eating and exercise tips.

Mapping Obesity In Australia — Infographic [AusSMC]


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