ANIKA MCMAHON
New research from Queensland Health reveals that Queensland holds the dubious honour of being the most overweight state in Australia.
These findings show that two in three adults (67%) and one in four children (25%) are either overweight or obese.
Queensland Health Chief Officer Dr Jeanette Young believes these figures will continue to rise in the future, adding pressure to Queensland’s health system.
“At this rate, it is expected that about three million Queenslanders will be overweight or obese by 2020,” she said.
“Obesity and related health conditions were estimated to cause over five per cent of hospital expenditure in 2010.”
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) states that Queensland is in a state of emergency, and without immediate action will see disastrous outcomes for future Australians.
“If strong actions are not taken by the next Government and future Governments, the Queensland health system we see today will be at breaking point in 20 years’ time,” they said.
The Palaszczuk government has initiated a number of health programs to help combat the rise of obesity and its crippling side effects.
The AMA support the health schemes put in place but understands that more must be done to avert a future health crisis.
“Successive governments, health professionals and other groups have taken significant strides to date in a bid to tackle the growing obesity and overweight crisis,” they said.
“We aren’t here to denigrate the effort so far, but it is time to take things up a notch.”
