Source: The Mercury, 7 November 1994, p.3 Source: The Mercury, 7 November 1994, p.3
People are getting fatter, a trend which may slow Australia's falling heart attack and stroke death rates. Tshe National Heart Foundation warned in the latest Medical Journal of Australia. A study of 19,315 people surveyed three times in 10 years found heart dis- ease risk factors such as smoking, salt eating, and meat-fat eating were on the decline but people were more likely to be obese or overweight than before. Obese people weigh 20 per cent more above their re- commended weight, while overweight people are less than 20 per cent above their recommended weight. High blood pressure also became less common, the study by National Centre for Epidemiology and Popu- lation health senior research fellow Stan Bennett and NHF medical director Paul Magnus found. The odds of women being obese increased by 70 per cent. while their chances of being overweight increased by 32 per cent. Men's chances of being obese rose by 24 per cent and the chance of being overweight rose by 13 per cent.
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