Report shows the average adult Queenslander is 3kg heavier than a decade ago and just 7% eat the recommended daily serve of vegetables
Two-thirds of Queensland’s adults and a quarter of its children are overweight or obese.
The Health of Queenslanders Report, released on Wednesday, showed the state is the most overweight in Australia.
Queensland’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young says people are eating too much of the wrong foods and not exercising enough.
“We have the sad mantle of being the heaviest state in Australia,” she said.
Many Queenslanders do not even recognise they have a problem.
“Queenslanders have a much distorted view of their weight, particularly as big, bigger and huge is now our norm,” she said.
The report said some progress had been made in reducing smoking, especially in young men aged 18-29, but the state was still home to 500,000 smokers.
While Queenslanders still drink more than the national average, there has been a decline in the number of young men drinking at risky levels.
Young said there was some good news, with immunisation rates now at 92% and the state on track to meet its target of 95%.
She said more must be done to tackle Queensland’s weight problem.
“We need to improve the daily eating patterns of all Queenslanders – fewer snacks, less junk food, sugary drinks and alcohol, and more fruit and vegetables,” she said.
Queensland’s weight problem
- The average adult Queenslander is 3kg heavier than they were a decade ago
- Obesity is driving a rise in type 2 diabetes, with 60 Queenslanders diagnosed daily
- A third of overweight or obese people think they are an acceptable weight
- About half of all primary school children eat confectionary daily
- Just 7% of Queenslanders eat the recommended daily serve of vegetables
- Half of all middle-aged men consume alcohol daily
- About 14% of Queenslanders smoke daily