By Esther Lauaki
More than 70 per cent of Wyndham residents are obese or overweight, new figures show.
The Australian Health Tracker data, released last week by the Mitchell Institute ahead of World Obesity Day, revealed that about 44,000 (31 per cent) of people living in the local government area were classified as obese.
The tracker showed the rate of obesity varied dramatically across the country and aimed to highlight the impact of where people live and wealth on people’s health.
Wyndham’s rate of obesity ranked 11th in the state – Melton and Moorabool had the highest rates.
Rosemary Calder, of the health policy think tank at the Mitchell Institute, said action was needed to focus prevention strategies in the most disadvantaged communities.
“We have spent too long as a nation expecting individuals to be able to change their behaviour to reduce their weight,” Professor Calder said.
“However, the evidence is very clear that this has little chance of success without a very strong focus on the environmental factors in the places where we live that contribute to poor nutrition and inactivity.”
She said places with the highest rates of obesity, also had much higher rates of smoking, inactivity and chronic illness and are largely low-socioeconomic communities, highlighting the impact of poverty on health.
She said low socio-economic communities, often new suburbs and regional areas, seldom had the physical infrastructure to support healthy lifestyles.
Professor Calder said that Victoria’s wealthy city suburbs had the lowest rates of obesity.
“[City] suburbs are usually green and leafy, with more space dedicated to parks, gardens and recreational facilities. They often are well serviced by public transport, bike paths and are relatively close to where people work which enables people to be physically active in their commute … rather than relying on the car.
“Local governments are critical to local planning and the creation of healthy and active spaces for their residents … however, they are often hampered by lack of funding and regulatory power.”
Details: mitchellinstitute.org.au/
