Obesity - One of the single biggest threats to public health in this country
Apr 21, 2022
The fat on obesity
One of the single biggest threats to public health in this country is obesity.
Shockingly, almost two in three Australian adults are overweight or obese and obesity is the second highest contributor to our country’s burden of disease, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
And it’s not just adults who are affected – currently 25 percent of the childhood population is classed as being overweight or obese.
Carrying around excess weight is like being a walking time bomb. Health issues associated with being overweight or obese include:
- Breathlessness
- High blood pressure
- Tiredness
- Lack of blood flow to extremities
- Heart disease
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Increase risk of cancers
- Heartburn
- Depression
- Gout
- Fatty liver disease
- Stroke
Is your staff overweight/obese?
According to NSW Health, you are at risk of being overweight or obese if your waist circumference is greater than 80cm in women and 94cm in men. For those at high risk, the values are 88cm and 102cm respectively. Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is also a good indicator. A normal BMI is anywhere between 18-29. Anything over that puts you in a high risk category for ill health.
Take action
Don’t wait for your staff to start breaking down – take action today and reap the benefits for your entire workplace:
- Give access to fresh fruits and vegetables in the workplace
- Remove fatty snacks and sugary foods from staff canteens or lunch rooms
- Get your staff moving and boost incidental activity by
- Implementing walking or standing-only meetings
- Move printers away from desks to encourage movement
- Introduce variable workstations that allows employees to sit or stand at their desks
- Start a lunchtime walking club.
- Launch a Project Health Program in the workplace with a 12, 24 or 52 week challenge for staff to see who can lose the most amount of weight and inches.
Sources: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
