Obesity crisis grows out of proportion

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SHOCKING or alarming – whichever way one looks at it, the obesity crisis is costing Australia a staggering A$58bil a year.

The epidemic, as the experts call it, has caused 644,843 Australians to suffer cardiovascular disease (a 70% increase), not to mention 242,000 others who have Type 2 diabetes (an increase of 137%) over the last three years.

In addition, 422,274 are suffering osteoarthritis as a result of being obese (an 88% increase) and 30,127 have colorectal, breast, uterine or kidney cancer (a 47% increase) over the same period.

And if no fundamental changes are made in the lifestyle of consuming junk food and sugary drinks, the number of obese people will increase even further – by at least another million in the next 17 years.

These startling figures are contained in a new report by Access Economics, which found that more than 3.71 million Australians – or 17.5% of the nation’s 20.4 million-population – are obese.

In other words, one-in-six-people is categorised as obese in Australia.

They include 290,000 children and teenagers, which is not surprising as many children are frequently ingesting junk food and sweet fizzy drinks or chocolate milkshakes.

DA national president Dr Gary Deed describes the figures as “tragic” because they show that previous estimates of the size and cost of the crisis have been understated.

“The obesity epidemic in Australia is having a direct and catastrophic influence on increasing the incidence of Type 2 diabetes,” he said after receiving the report last week.

“We know that obesity and Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, and we need to make fundamental changes in the way we live to arrest the escalating crisis.”

Economic problems too

But the wellbeing of the people is not the only thing that is greatly affected by obesity. It is also creating an economic problem.

The report shows that loss of healthy life due to obesity or premature death is about A$50bil while the cost to the economy is A$8bil.

Globally, there are nearly half a million children under 15 with Type 1 diabetes, which, according to experts, cannot be prevented. It is estimated that about 200 children develop the disease every day somewhere in the world.

However, what is shocking, too, is the fact that while Type 1 diabetes is increasing fastest in pre-school children – at the rate of 5% a year – Type 2 diabetes has been reported in children as young as eight years old.

Experts say that diabetes is, in fact, one of the most common chronic diseases to affect children of any age, even toddlers and babies.

If it is not detected early enough in a child, the disease could be fatal or result in serious brain damage. Yet diabetes in a child is often misdiagnosed as the flu or some other ailment.

Over half of the children with diabetes will develop complications within 15 years. The complications can include heart and vascular diseases, eye and kidney complaints, poor vascularisation, damage to nerve cells, diabetic feet and high susceptibility for infections.

It is understood that diabetes in children has become a global public health issue with potentially serious outcomes.

The latest report on the costs of obesity is timely. It coincided with a major forum in Perth last week, organised by Curtin University and the Public Health Advocacy Institute of Western Australia.

The meeting called for measures to control obesity, including food regulations such as better labelling and a curb on the advertising and promotion of junk food.

It also recommended initiatives such as free public transport every second Monday and a lifestyle risk assessment in health checks for every four-year-old child.

Dr Deed has also called for long-term planning on issues such as urban design and urged that food labelling be implemented urgently.

“The fight against obesity requires a new approach that considers the economic and social conditions under which we live and how this is impacted on our health,” he concluded.

“The long-term policy planning should also include workplace initiatives, lifestyle education and making healthy choices easier for Australians and their families.

“Governments must act outside of concern for their current electoral cycle to address the explosion of obesity and diabetes.”

Jeffrey Francis is editorial consultant, Australasia-Pacific Media.