Australia the Obese Nation. Which statistic are you?

Having been to the U.S. (think Chip & Dale Disneyland photo) I find it hard to fathom how Australia can even fit (pun intended) into the same category of obesity as America does. This is after all America we are talking about. The land of cheese and phillysteaks!

One of my first memories of Disneyland was walking through the golden arches (oh wait, that's McDonald's) and seeing one of the elaborately-dressed-cartoon-like street sellers hoisting a roast turkey leg above their head and insisting fascinated passers by (read me) "Try the giant leg". The term 'giant leg' possibly still proving an understatement. These legs were no ordinary drumstick. These were the stuff pirates are made of!

How do we possibly compare to this? In Australia you're lucky if your Kentucky Fried Chicken drumstick fits into the palm of your hand, let alone being size-equivalent to the length of your own thigh (the irony of course being KFC is American). Australia also does not pride itself on the "Big-Gulp" (as seen below). So where have we gone wrong?

Sadly though, big-gulps and Turkey legs aside Australia is up there in the 'obese nations' category. A report in the Parliament of Australia Parliamentary library states:

Reports of an ‘obesity epidemic’ appear with increasing frequency and rising concern in Australia. Particular attention is given to reports of the accelerating rate of obesity among Australian children. Overweight and obesity in Australia

In the words of Helen Lovejoy "DEAR GOD WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!" (Muscle Man will be very proud of my Simpson's reference!).

A recent survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 68% of adult men and 55% of adult women were overweight or obese. For children, there was a significant increase in the proportion who are obese from 5.2% in 1995 to 7.8% in 2007/8. The proportion of boys who were obese more than doubled from 4.5% to 9.7% while girls remained unchanged at 5.8%. ABS Health Study

Even more concerning was a recent article printed in the latest edition of Weight Watchers magazine which claims that by 2020, 65% of all Australian children will be overweight or obese. Weight Watchers Online

So with statistics that indicate less Aussie men and women are in a healthy weight range then those who are not, which statistic are you?

For me, I see it as a sad state of affairs regarding the health of our nation that I should pride myself on being in the statistic serving as the minority. Alas, it would seem that with a statistic as low as 45% I should feel proud!

To some extent one could possibly argue that 'weight' does not always accurately reflect health. In this vein I am almost certain if we took a percentage of "healthy-weight-rangers" and looked at their health beyond the digit afforded to them on the scale, we would find that a portion of them were in fact less-healthy than those tipping the scale at the "overweight end". However when it comes down to it, healthy or not, the figures in relation to obesity are startling.

So what can we do?

Well, if I had all the answers I'd be rich and therefore, I imagine I'd be on a holiday in Disneyland at present with Muscle Man, Jim, Bob and a turkey leg. Sadly though the only immediate answers I have is that as a parent, and a person myself, it needs to start at home and it needs to start with SELF. It also needs to start with an honest question, which statistic are you?