A report from Queensland Health has found a quarter of all deaths in the state are linked to people’s weight.
The Health of Queenslanders report, released today, showed while there had been some improvements since the last report two years ago, there were still many challenges to address.
It showed 65 per cent of adults, and 28 per cent of children in Queensland are overweight or obese – worse rates than any other state.
Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said obesity rates have increased by over 20 per cent in four years.
“We have the sad mantle of being the ‘heaviest’ state in Australia,” Dr Young said.
“It’s hard to fathom – at least, I find it hard to fathom, why we have such problems here in Queensland.
“We’ve got the best climate for getting outside and being active, and we have got some of the best food – fruit and vegetables are second to none. Somehow, we’ve got to do something.”
Dr Young said the evidence pointed to Queenslanders eating too much of the wrong food and moving too little.
“And Queenslanders have a much distorted view of their weight, particularly as big, bigger and huge is now our norm,” she said.
“We are witnessing an increase in physical activity but there is still too much sedentary behaviour.”
According to the report, only 60 per cent of Queensland adults and 41 per cent of children were achieving the recommended physical activity levels.
Dr Young said while obesity was a key concern, progress had been made in many areas such as immunisation and efforts to stop smoking.
“Smoking rates have continued to fall with the rate of decline similar for both men and women,” she said.
“Young men aged 18 to 29 have led the way in stopping smoking and given us hope that fewer young people will take up the habit.
“It is estimated however that there are still around 500,000 adult smokers in Queensland and that’s 500,000 too many.”
She said immunisation was another “Queensland success story”.
“At 92 per cent we are higher than the national average and I believe we are on track to meet our goal of 95 per cent,” she said.
Small changes to alcohol consumption
Queenslanders’ alcohol consumption was also scrutinised in the report, which showed a small but welcome change.
“Whilst Queenslanders still drink more than the national average, it is again young men in the 18 to 29 year age bracket who have made a difference by achieving a decline in ‘risky’ drinking levels, which is encouraging,” she said.
“This may be a small step but it’s one with big potential.”
Dr Young said overall, Queensland was a healthy state with life expectancy rates showing Queenslanders were outliving much of the world’s population.
“When compared to 187 countries, Queensland would be ranked among the top 10 for life expectancy but there are still opportunities to make gains in our health status,” she said.
“We need to address the increasing burden of hospitalisations by preventing disease and maximising opportunities for treatment and management in the primary healthcare setting.
“We can prevent early deaths by focussing on the risks that cause them and 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.”