Prevention of Overweight and Obesity:

Running head: PAMPHLET ESSAY ON OBESITY IN AUSTRALIA
Pamphlet Essay On Obesity In Australia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2
According to the WHO reports in 2007, Australia has the third higest prevalence of
obesity. It is increasing day by day and is considered as an epidemic. The sudden hike in the
rates of obesity among the Australians are caused by poor eating habits, easy abailability of
fast food, leading a sedentary life and decreased labour workforce(Huse, Hettiarachchi,
Gearon, Nichols, Allender & Peeters, 2018).
Prevalence and Incidence of obesity in Australia
In 2015, more than one out of four Australians were found obesed, which represents
almost five million Australians aged 18 or over. Almost 1 in 12 children (8%) are obese and 1
out of 4 (28%) adults are found obese. According to the survey conducted by the Australian
Bureau of Statistics in 2005, there was a significant rise in the rate of obesity among the
Australian adults, the number of overweight individual increased from 6.5 million in 2001 to
7.5 million in 2005(Merema, O'Connell, Joyce, Woods & Sullivan, 2019). According to the
WHO reports in 2007, almost 68% of Australian adults were found overweight or obese,
making it the third in the list of obesity. In 2017-2018, the Australian Bureau of Statistics’
National Health Survery showed almost 67% of Australian adults were found obese or
overweight, which accounts for nearly 12.6 million people, which was an increase from 65%
which was recorded in 2015(Da Luz, Sainsbury, Mannan, Touyz, Mitchison & Hay, 2017).
The National Health Survey also indicated that almost 24% of children aged 5-16 years were
found overwight or obese in 2017-2018.
Target audience
The prevalence of obesity among the Australians was found to be highest among the
adults who are aged between 55-65years (nearly 29%), and the lowest rate among the
individulas aged between 25-35 years (almost 15%), however the rate of obesity among the
older adults were found to be low (around 13%). In the recent survey done by WHO, it was

3
found that almost 76% of males and 66% of females in Australia are overweight(Diouf,
Magliano, Carrington, Stewart & Shaw, 2016).
(Fig. Prevalence of Obesity among the Australians)
(Fig. The increase in the rate of Obesity among the Australians from 1980- 2015)