Aussies losing the battle of the bulge

11 May 2009, 4:24 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Australia is losing the battle of the bulge, according to new data that shows that 62 per cent of people are either overweight or obese.

Australia is losing the battle of the bulge.

Fresh data shows 62 per cent of people are now overweight or obese, a marked increase from past surveys.

Men and older people are the fattest of all and about a quarter of children are overweight or obese.

But Australians are in denial about their growing waistlines - the statisticians found people consistently claimed to be slimmer than they actually were.

The damning data was collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which measured the height, weight, hips and waists of 22,000 people for the 2007-08 National Health Survey.

People may be packing on the kilos but there's good news on cigarettes - we're smoking less.

One in five adults smoke less than in previous surveys.

The number of people who drink alcohol to a risky level has plateaued, albeit at a higher level than a decade ago.

Young men and middle-aged women are the groups most likely to booze.

The survey outed men as the worst culprits on health no-nos.

Men are more likely than women to smoke and be overweight, and are less likely to eat fruit and vegetables.

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