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Health in Hunter New England |
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Health related behaviours
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Health in Hunter New England |
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Health related behaviours
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| Note: | Body Mass Index (BMI) = weight(kg)/height*height(m). BMI categories: underweight: BMI<20, acceptable weight: BMI 20-<25, overweight: BMI 25-<30, obese: BMI>=30. Estimates based on 688 respondents. 31 (4.3%) not stated for height or weight. Upper and lower limits of the 95 per cent confidence interval (LL/UL 95% CI) for the point estimate are shown in the data table. |
| Source: | NSW Health Survey 2003 (HOIST). Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Health. |
Obesity is an epidemic in Australia and the World Health Organization has identified the increasing prevalence of obesity as a major public health problem for developed countries and an increasing number of developing countries. Overweight and obesity are key risk factors for preventable morbidity and mortality due to many diseases, particularly hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitis (NHMRC, 1997).
Among Hunter New England respondents to 2003 NSW Health Survey, a larger proportion of males (63.4%) than females (44.9%) were classified as overweight or obese.
The results presented here underestimate the true prevalence of overweight and obesity, because they rely on self-report of height and weight, via telephone interview. A validation study of 1997 NSW Health Survey data reported that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was underestimated by 23% for men and 15% for women (Flood et al., 2000).
For Hunter New England males, the proportion of respondents classified as overweight or obese peaked in the 35-44 and the 55-64 year age group at 77.4% and 76.8% overweight or obese respectively. For Hunter New England females, the highest prevalence of overweight or obesity was in the 55-64 year age group (56.7%). More males than females were classified as overweight or obese in all age groups. This was particularly marked for those aged 35-44 years (where over twice as many males as females were classified as overweight or obese).
The NSW Health has developed a strategic plan for public health nutrition in New South Wales 2003-2007. Strategies to promote healthy weight in the population should focus on decreasing the prevalence of eating patterns that lead to over consumption of energy from food, decrease time spent in sedentary activity and increase physical activity. Strategies should include both those that aim to improve individuals' knowledge and skills and also environmental strategies that aim to decrease exposure of populations to the underlying causes of obesity such as availability of healthy food, safe environments for physical activity and active transport (NSW Health, 2003)
Prior to the 2004 Area Health Services merge an extensive consultation with key stakeholders in Hunter resulted in promoting healthy weight prioritised as a key public health nutrition action area (Murphy, A, (2002) A Framework for Eat Well Hunter: A Public Health Nutrition Action Plan, HAHS). Strategies to promote healthy weight in the Hunter New England include piloting a community wide healthy weight project and implementing recommendations from the NSW Childhood Obesity Summit by supporting school canteens to provide healthy choices.
| For more information: | Australian Bureau of Statistics. How Australians measure up. Catalogue no. 4359.0. Canberra: ABS, 1999. |
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Flood V, Webb K, Lazarus R, Pang G. Use of self-report to monitor overweight and obesity in populations: some issues for consideration. Aust J Public Health 2000; 24: 96-99. | |
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National Health and Medical Research Council. Acting on Australia's weight: A strategic plan for the prevention of overweight and obesity. Canberra: NHMRC, 1997. | |
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National Public Health Partnership. Eat Well Australia. An agenda for action for public health nutrition, 2000-2010. Canberra: Strategic Inter-Governmental Nutrition Alliance, 2001. www.nphp.gov.au/publications/signal/eatwell2.pdf | |
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NSW Department of Health. Eat Well NSW Strategic Directions for Public Health Nutrition 2002-2007. Final Consultation Draft. Sydney: NSW Department of Health, 2002. | |
| Print version: | Although this page can be printed directly from your Web browser, a higher quality version of this entire page (graph, table and text) is available as an Acrobat PDF file which can be printed or viewed on screen using Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software). |
| Downloadable files: | The data contained in the table on this page are available for download as a CSV file which can be imported into many software packages. The graph is available for download as an EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file and as an EMF (Enhanced Metafile Format) file. Files in these formats can be imported into most word processing, presentation and graphics software packages. |
| Rider: | The information presented in this report result from analyses of a variety of social and health focused datasets. These datasets originate from a variety of sources including Hunter New England Health, the NSW Department of Health, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The timing of the release of these data to third parties is controlled by the owner of these data. It is therefore possible for these organisations to publish data that they have not yet made available to Hunter New England Population Health for analysis and release. Users should therefore check the publications of these organisations as it is possible that they may have published even more up to date information on Hunter New England than those available in this report. As this report is an ongoing project, the indicators presented will be updated as soon as possible after the release of all datasets to Hunter New England Population Health. |
| Copyright notice: | This work is copyright Hunter New England Area Health Service, 2005. It may be reproduced in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited. |
| Suggested citation: | Hunter New England Population Health. Health in Hunter New England. Hunter New England Area Health Service, 2005. Available at: http://www.hnehealth.nsw.gov.au/HHNE/beh/beh_bmiage.htm. Accessed (insert date of access). |
| Produced by: | Hunter New England Population Health, Hunter New England Health, with assistance from: Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Health. |
| Last updated: | 14 December 2005 |
| See NSW Data: | To view state data, see NSW Chief Health Officer's Report: internet version, intranet version |
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