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.

Read more at Deakin University

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2 Comments sorted by

  1. Matthew Cruice

    Medical Student

    If around 60% of Australians are overweight or obese shouldn't the heading to this article be "Almost TWO in three Australians overweight or obese" or are you trying to say that there are roughly a third of each? It's a either incorrect or ambiguous I think.

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    1. Megan Clement

      Deputy Editor, Politics + Society at The Conversation

      In reply to Matthew Cruice

      Thanks for your comment Matthew, the headline has been amended.

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