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Overweight and Obesity 2011
SEPTEMBER 2011
Obesity in childr en and young p eople
Obesity rates in children are a concern .Globally, it was
estimated that at least 20million children under 5 years were
overweightin 2005. 6 The prevalence of overweight andobesity in
Australian children increasedsubstantially during the past 40 years
and isprojected to approach adult rates within 30years. 12
In Queensland, 26.1% of children aged 515 years wereoverweight
or obese in 2007-08, based on physicalmeasurement. This compares
with 26.5% in 2009 based onestimates from proxy reports
(information collected from parentsand carers). 1
Rates of proxy-reported overweight and obesity in 2009
werecomparable in girls and boys aged 515 years and across all
agegroups. However, the rates of overweight and obesity in
childrenliving in disadvantaged areas of Queensland were more
thandouble that in advantaged areas. 1
Overweight and obesity in childhood, especially in older
children,can be a precursor for obesity and severe obesity in
adulthood.Furthermore, childhood and adolescent obesity is
associated witha higher risk of premature death and disability in
later life. 1
There is evidence that in addition to the physical
risks,overweight and obese children are at greater risk of
socialisolation and development of psychological disorders than
thosein the healthy weight range. 13
How does overweight and obesity imp act on health?
Overweight and obesity is now the largest single contributing
riskfactor for premature death and disability in
Queensland,overtaking tobacco. Obesity reduces life expectancy,
with theaverage survival for obese people reduced by 24 years and
forthe severely obese a reduction of 810 years. 1
High body mass is the dominant risk factor for a number
ofchronic diseases, with about 40% of disease burden due to type2
diabetes, 30% to coronary heart disease, 11% to stroke and10% to
colorectal, breast and uterine cancers. 1
In addition to major chronic illnesses, being overweight or
obeseincreases a persons risk of respiratory problems (sleep
apnoeaand breathlessness), chronic musculoskeletal problems
(lowerback pain and osteoarthritis), gall bladder disease and
impairedfertility.4
Economics of obesityObesity is expensive, and a majorcontributor
to the burden on healthcaresystems. In Queensland, the total
healthsystem cost for obesity in 2008 wasestimated to be about $391
million.
Obesity puts people at higher risk of a number of
disablingchronic conditions, resulting in the loss of healthy life.
In 2008overweight and obesity in Queensland was estimated to costan
additional $9.961 billion in lost wellbeing, and together withother
financial costs, results in a total of $11.614 billion relatedto
obesity. 1
Toward Q2 target progress
The Queensland Government is committed to makingQueenslanders
Australias healthiest people. Reduction of obesityis a key target
in achieving this commitment. The Toward Q2 goalis to reduce the
rate of adult overweight and obesity by one-third by2020. If this
goal is achieved, the prevalence of overweight andobesity in
Queensland adults in 2020 will be33%.
However, between 2002 and 2011, theprevalence of self reported
adult overweight and obesity increasedby 1 percentage point per
year. If current upward trends continue,about 65% of Queensland
adults (3.7 million) will be overweight orobese by 2020, nearly
double the Toward Q2 goal. 1
Proportion of self reported adult overweight and
obesity,Queensland, 20022011 and proj ections to 2020 Q2 target
Between 1995 and 2007-08 the proportion of people whomeasured as
overweight remained steady, but the proportionmeasured as obese
increased by about one-third from 19.2% to25.1% in Queensland.
1
Overweight and obesity is perhaps the most important
challengefacing the health system but it is also largely
preventable. While
good nutrition and regular exercise can influence a
personsweight, the focus cannot be on changing individual
behavioursalone. Reversing the long term upward trends in
overweight andobesity will require concerted and sustained action
across allsectors of the community through multi-strategy
interventions. 1
References1. Queensland Health. The Health of Queenslanders
2010. Third Report of the
Chief Health Officer Queensland. Queensland Health: Brisbane;
2010.2. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and managing
the global
epidemic. Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity. WHO: Geneva;
1997.3. Queensland Health. 2011 Self reported health status survey.
Population
Epidemiology Unit, Preventative Health Directorate: Brisbane;
2011.4. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and managing
the global
epidemic. WHO Technical Report Series 894. WHO: Geneva; 2000.5.
International Obesity Task Force and European Association for the
Study of
Obesity. Obesity in Europe. IOTF and EASO: London; 2002.6. World
Health Organization. Overweight and obesity. Fact sheet no. 311.
WHO:
Geneva; 2006.7. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health
Survey: Summary of results.
State tables. 2007-08. Cat. no. 4362.0. ABS: Canberra; 2009.8.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander
Health Survey, 2004-05. Cat. no. 4715.0. ABS: Canberra; 2006.9.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Health at a
Glance
2009: OECD Indicators. DOI: 10.1787/health_glance-2009-en. OECD:
Paris;2009.
10. Chuang H-T, Lee Y-C. Analysis of factors found to affect
self-perceived weightstatus in Australia. Journal of Nursing
Research 2010;18:227-237.
11. Abbott RA, Lee AJ, Stubbs CO, Davies PSW. Accuracy of weight
statusperception in contemporary Australian children and
adolescents. Journal ofPaediatrics and Child Health
2010;46:343-348.
12. Norton K, Dollman J, Martin M, Harten N. Descriptive
epidemiology ofchildhood overweight and obesity in Australia:
1901-2003. International Journalof Pediatric Obesity
2006;1:232-238.
13. Libbey HP, Story MT, Neumark-Sztainer DR, Boutelle KN.
Teasing, disordered
eating behaviors, and psychological morbidities among
overweightadolescents. Obesity 2008;16.
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2 0 1 0
2 0 1 2
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P e r c e n
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Survey dataProjected trend
Current trend
Q2 target
COAG targets
Baseline
_____ Trend required to meet Q2
Prepared by : Population Epidemiology Unit, Strategic
Partnerships and Epidemiology Branch, Preventative Health
Directorate, Division of the Chief Health Officer, Queensland
HealthSuggested citation: Queensland Health: Overweight and Obesity
2011 Fact sheet. Division of the Chief Health Officer, Queensland
Health, Brisbane, 2011.
