Half of Australia overweight: report

Almost half of Australia’s 20 million people are overweight and are fast creeping up to the obesity levels of the world’s fattest nation – the United States, according to a health report released today.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates as many as 3.3 million people aged 18 to 64 are obese, and another 5.6 million are overweight. This equates to some two-thirds of men and nearly half of all women, the report said.