” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents are more likely to be overweight or obese than non-Indigenous children and adolescents.

In 2012–13, 30% of Indigenous children and adolescents aged 2–14 were overweight or obese, compared with 25% of their non-Indigenous counterparts. One in 10 (10%) Indigenous children and adolescents aged 2–14 were obese, compared with 7% of their non-Indigenous counterparts (ABS 2014a).

Prevalence among Indigenous children and adolescents see section 2 below

 ” In 2012–13, more than two-thirds (69%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were overweight or obese (29% overweight but not obese, and 40% obese). Indigenous men (69%) and women (70%) had similar rates of overweight and obesity (ABS 2014a).

One-third (32%) of Indigenous men and more than one-quarter (27%) of Indigenous women were overweight but not obese, while 36% of Indigenous men, and 43% of Indigenous women were obese ”

Prevalence among Indigenous adults see section 3 below

Read over 30 NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Obesity articles

Download AIHW Report HERE

aihw-phe-216.pdf

 ” Australian food ministers expect parents to make healthier choices for their families, but take no action on giving them the tools to know how much added sugar is in food. Shameful, given AIHW stats showing obesity has doubled in 2-5 year olds in the last 20 years.

 Health Ministers acknowledge that added sugar labelling is an issue but delay taking any action. Added sugar labelling has been delayed since 2011, this is very disappointing.”

Communique : The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (the Forum) met in Melbourne Friday 24 Nov . The Forum is chaired by the Australian Government Assistant Minister for Health, Dr David Gillespie 

Download full Communique Forum Communique 24 November 2017

Sugar Labelling

In April 2017, the Forum Ministers agreed a work program on sugar that included:

• ̵further evidence gathering activities by Food Standards Australia New Zealand on consumer understanding and behaviour;
• ̵international approaches to sugar labelling; and
• ̵an update of the policy context.

Noting the desire of Forum Ministers to take a whole-of-diet, holistic approach to food labelling, Forum Ministers considered that information about sugar provided on food labels does not provide adequate contextual information to enable consumers to make informed choices in support of dietary guidelines. Forum Ministers agreed to continue examining regulatory and non-regulatory options to address this issue.

Forum Ministers also noted the range of existing complementary initiatives outside of the food regulation system that address sugar intakes, such as the current review of the Health Star Rating system, policy work underway on the labelling of fats and oils, and the work of the Healthy Food Partnership.

Jane Martin Obesity Coalition updating our NACCHO Post from last week

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #sugar and #Sugardemic : Todays meeting of Health Ministers is a real chance to improve #HealthStarRatings for our Mob

Part 1 Executive summary

Overweight and obesity is a major public health issue in Australia. It results from a sustained energy imbalance—when energy intake from eating and drinking is greater than energy expended through physical activity.

This energy imbalance might be influenced by a person’s biological and genetic characteristics, and by lifestyle factors.

This report brings together a variety of information to create a picture of overweight and obesity in Australia.

It summarises factors that influence people’s energy intake and expenditure and contribute to the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity, as well as some approaches aiming to reduce its prevalence.

It presents the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children, adolescents, and adults, and includes trends over time, differences among population groups, and the health and economic impact of overweight and obesity.

One-quarter of children and adolescents are overweight or obese

In 2014–15, 1 in 5 (20%) children aged 2–4 were overweight or obese—11% were overweight but not obese, and 9% were obese.

About 1 in 4 (27%) children and adolescents aged 5–17 were overweight or obese—20% were overweight but not obese, and 7% were obese.

For both children aged 2–4 and 5–17 years, similar proportions of girls and boys were obese. For children aged 5–17, the prevalence of overweight and obesity rose from 21% in 1995 to 25% in 2007–08, then remained relatively stable to 2014–15.

Nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, and obesity is on the rise

In 2014–15, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Australian adults were overweight or obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has steadily increased, up from 57% in 1995—which has largely been driven by a rise in obesity.

The prevalence of severe obesity among Australian adults has almost doubled over this period, from 5% in 1995 to 9% in 2014–15.

In 2014–15, 71% of men were overweight or obese, compared with 56% of women. A greater proportion of men (42%) than women (29%) were overweight but not obese, while a similar proportion of men (28%) and women (27%) were obese.

More men than women were overweight or obese in 2014–15; a similar proportion were obese overweight or obese overweight but not obese

For children aged 5–17, the prevalence of overweight and obesity rose from 1995 to 2007–08 and remained relatively stable to 2014–15

Some groups are more likely to be overweight or obese than others

Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, Indigenous adults are more likely to be overweight or obese, and Indigenous children and adolescents are more likely to be obese.

Those who live outside of Major cities, or who are in the lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to be overweight or obese than others.

Overweight and obesity has high health and financial costs

Among adults, overweight and obesity has adverse health and economic impacts, including a higher risk of developing many chronic conditions, and of death (due to any cause).

Overweight and obesity was responsible for 7% of the total health burden in Australia in 2011, 63% of which was fatal burden. In 2011–12, obesity was estimated to have cost the Australian economy $8.6 billion.

Small changes, big health gains

If all Australians at risk of disease due to overweight or obesity reduced their body mass index by just 1 kilogram per metre squared, or about 3 kilograms for a person of average height, the overall health impact of excess weight would drop substantially.

Maintaining any weight loss is critical for long-term health gains.

Indigenous Australians and those living outside Major cities or who are in lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to be overweight or obese

Approaches for reducing overweight and obesity

Population health approaches to address overweight and obesity provide an opportunity for widespread benefit. They include laws and regulations, tax and price interventions, community-based interventions—including those in schools and workplaces—and public education through platforms such as social marketing campaigns.

Individual-level approaches are also important, and may either be preventive, or incorporate treatment strategies such as weight loss surgery.

Part 2 Prevalence among Indigenous children and adolescents

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents are more likely to be overweight or obese than non-Indigenous children and adolescents.

In 2012–13, 30% of Indigenous children and adolescents aged 2–14 were overweight or obese, compared with 25% of their non-Indigenous counterparts. One in 10 (10%) Indigenous children and adolescents aged 2–14 were obese, compared with 7% of their non-Indigenous counterparts (ABS 2014a).

At age 15–17, 35% of Indigenous adolescents were overweight or obese, compared with 24% of non-Indigenous adolescents of the same age, and 14% of Indigenous adolescents were obese, double the proportion (7%) of non-Indigenous adolescents.

Indigenous boys and girls were most likely to be overweight but not obese at age 10–14 (26% for boys, and 25% for girls) (Figure 3.4), and they were most likely to be obese at age 15–17 for boys (17%), and 5–9 for girls (13%).

Part 3 Prevalence among Indigenous adults

In 2012–13, more than two-thirds (69%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were overweight or obese (29% overweight but not obese, and 40% obese). Indigenous men (69%) and women (70%) had similar rates of overweight and obesity (ABS 2014a).

One-third (32%) of Indigenous men and more than one-quarter (27%) of Indigenous women were overweight but not obese, while 36% of Indigenous men, and 43% of Indigenous women were obese.

Indigenous men were most likely to be overweight but not obese at age 45–54 (38%), and to be obese at 55 and over (47%). Indigenous women were most likely to be overweight but not obese at 55 and over (32%), and were more likely to be obese, rather than overweight but not obese, at all ages. This was most noticeable in women aged 45–54, who were more than twice as likely to be obese (51%) than overweight but not obese (25%) (Figure 4.7).

In 2012–13, after adjusting for differences in age structure, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were 1.2 times as likely to be overweight or obese as non-Indigenous adults, and 1.6 times as likely to be obese (ABS 2014a).

Part 4 Prevalence by Primary Health Network area

There are 31 Primary Health Network (PHN) areas across Australia, and reporting at these smaller, local areas can provide results that could be masked in national-or state/territory-level results.

PHNs commission and connect health services within PHN area boundaries, which are defined by the Department of Health (Department of Health 2016). The information in this section relates to the population living within the area covered by a particular PHN.

In 2014–15, of measured PHN areas, the Country South Australia PHN area had the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity, at almost three-quarters of adults (73%) (Figure 4.8). The Northern Sydney

PHN area had the lowest prevalence, with just over half of adults being overweight or obese (53%). Four PHN areas had proportions of overweight and obese adults of 70% or more—Country South Australia, Western New South Wales, Darling Downs and West Moreton (Queensland), and Western Victoria.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults varied between metropolitan and regional PHN areas. In 2014–15, regional PHN areas had higher proportions of adults who were overweight and obese (69%) than metropolitan PHN areas (61%).

There was no significant difference between the proportion of overweight but not obese adults in metropolitan (36%) and regional (34%) PHN areas. But the difference was significant for obesity alone—more than one-third (35%) of adults in regional PHN areas were obese, compared with about one-quarter (24%) in metropolitan PHN areas (AIHW 2016e).

Structure of this report

• Chapter 2 describes the factors that influence overweight and obesity in Australia, including food and nutrition, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and the ‘obesogenic environment’.
• Chapters 3 and 4 present the most recent Australian data on prevalence and trends in overweight and obesity, including breakdowns by remoteness area, socioeconomic group, and Indigenous status, as well as international comparisons of obesity prevalence, and data on overweight and obesity for Australian mothers during pregnancy.
• Chapter 5 presents data on the health impacts of overweight and obesity in Australia, including chronic conditions, death, and the burden of disease associated with overweight and obesity, as well some of the direct and indirect economic impacts.
• Chapter 6 describes approaches that have been implemented in Australia to target overweight and obesity at the individual level, such as weight loss surgery, and population level, including laws and regulations, tax and price interventions, community-based interventions, and health promotion measures.
• Supplementary data tables for the data presented in figures throughout this report are available on the AIHW website at: <https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/ a-picture-of-overweight-and-obesity-in-australia/data>.

Table of contents

1 Introduction

• Defining overweight and obesity
• Measuring overweight and obesity in children
• Structure of this report

 

2 Factors leading to overweight and obesity

◦Food and nutrition

◦Physical activity

◦The obesogenic environment ◾Schools

◾Workplace

◾Home and neighbourhood

◾Media influence

◾Increase in convenience foods and portion sizes

3 Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents

◦Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents

◦Trends in prevalence

◦Prevalence by birth cohort

◦Prevalence by remoteness area

◦Prevalence by socioeconomic group

◦Prevalence among Indigenous children and adults

4 Overweight and obesity among adults

◦Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults

◦Body mass index

◦Waist circumference

◦Trends in prevalence

◦Prevalence by birth cohort

◦Prevalence by remoteness area

◦Prevalence by socioeconomic group

◦Prevalence among Indigenous adults

◦Prevalence by Primary Health Network area

◦International comparisons

◦Maternal overweight and obesity

5 Impact of overweight and obesity

◦Health impacts

◾Chronic conditions

◾Mortality

◾Burden of disease

◦Economic impacts

6 Approaches for reducing overweight and obesity

◦Laws and regulations

◦Tax and price interventions

◦Community-based interventions

◦Health promotion

◦Weight loss surgery

• Appendix A: Classification of overweight and obesity for children and adolescents
• Appendix B: Defining socioeconomic groups
• Appendix C: Measuring overweight and obesity
• rates at Primary Health Network area level
• Appendix D: State and territory policy actions and infrastructure support actions
• Glossary
• References
• List of tables
• List of figures
• List of boxes
• Related publications