More than half of Australians overweight or obese

Around 60% of Australians are overweight or obese, a study of Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference has found. The researchers examined the prevalence of obesity among 1467 men and 1076 women aged 20 to 96 enrolled in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. It found that using the BMI (measures of weight corrected for height), 45.1% of men and 30.2% of women are overweight and a further 20.2% of men and 28.6% of women are obese.

Using the waist circumference measurement method the study found that 27.5% of men and 23.3% of women are overweight, and 29.3% of men and 44.1% of women are obese.