Averagely obese
Within 20 years, one in two Kiwis will be clinically obese, according to an alarming new forecast.
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NEW ZEALANDERS TRACKING FOR BIG FAT FUTURE
New Zealand is already one of the world’s fattest countries. Within 20 years nearly one-in-two adults will be clinically obese, new research shows.
Junk food and sedentary lifestyles are two of the leading causes for an obesity epidemic the paper suggests will have increasing health and economic costs.
University of Otago researcher Dr Ross Wilson, the study’s lead author of the new study, said he hoped it would be a ‘‘wake-up’’ call.
‘‘Body mass index (BMI) and obesity rates are continuing to increase in New Zealand and our expectation is that they will continue to do so for the forseeable future,’’ he said.
‘‘High BMI has now overtaken tobacco as the greatest contributor to health loss in New Zealand, which emphasises the public health importance of these findings.’’
The study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, drew from the Government’s New Zealand Health Survey and other data tracking BMI over time.
BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. A BMI of between
18.5 and 25 is considered healthy, 25 to
30 overweight, and 30 and over obese. New Zealand’s average BMI increased from 26.4 in 1997 to 28.3 in
2015. If the trend continues, the study said the average BMI would exceed the obesity threshold by the early 2030s.
Wilson said unless steps were taken to curb the ‘‘alarming’’ trend, about 45 per cent of adults would be obese by
2038, up from about 32 per cent now. The study also highlights socioeconomic and ethnic disparity. By 2038, the average BMI of Pacific people would be 8.1 greater than general population’s.
Healthcare costs of overweight and obesity-related conditions was estimated at $624 million in 2006, or 4.4 per cent of all health-spending.
Auckland University Professor Boyd Swindon, who was involved in the 2006 research, estimated the annual cost was now about $1 billion, including lost productivity. Increased obesity would increase the cost of health effects including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and musculoskeletal conditions including back pain.
Wilson and the study’s co-author, Otago University Professor Haxby Abbott, said the findings emphasised the need for effective public health measures to tackle the causes of the obesity epidemic.
This could include: making healthy food relatively cheaper through subsidies or taxation, restricting marketing of unhealthy food, and promoting walking and cycling.
Swindon said introducing a tax on sugary drinks was a ‘‘no-brainer’’, as was removing junk food from settings such as workplaces.
‘‘If you don’t change the underlying driver, which is the over-consumption of junk food, then you’re never going to change the trajectory of obesity in New Zealand,’’ he said.
widespread calls from health professionals for a sugary drinks tax have so far had little political buy-in despite evidence from overseas.
Britain introduced a tax in April charging manufacturers levies depending on sugar content. Before it took effect, many companies had already reduced sugar in their drinks.
Wilson said he hoped the study encouraged more discussion around the issue of rising obesity rates.
‘‘Hopefully it will be a little bit of a wake-up call that it’s time to start looking at what we can do from a a public health perspective to avert this alarming rise.’’