‘Overfat’ Aussies at risk

AUSTRALIANS rank among the worst in the world for carrying dangerous stomach fat – with a shocking 88 per cent of men and 76 per cent of women now “overfat”.

While many of these people can appear healthy, overfat refers to a glut of weight around the abdomen that is a precursor to cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart attack.

This “unhealthiest form of excess body fat” is also hitting Australian children, affecting 47 per cent of boys and 45 per cent of girls.

New research has found overfat people can appear to be of normal weight when in fact their health is in jeopardy based on the measure of their abdominal fat.

Australian men ranked fifth in the world in overfat scales, outweighed only by the US, New Zealand, Iceland and Greece. The study concluded that up to 76 per cent of the world may be overfat.