The big fat fight

For a sport-loving nation blessed with the great outdoors and great varieties of healthy food, we sure don't look healthy. Australia has the second highest incidence of obesity in the world closely following the US, according to data recently released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

 

The 1999/2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study found that about 22 percent of all females and 19 percent of males were obese. The number of overweight adults has trebled in the past two decades to 52 percent of adult women and 67 percent of men. About 25 percent of Australian kids are overweight.

 

Where do you draw the line between overweight and obese? Based on World Health Organisation recommendations, the International Obesity Taskforce defines ranges for overweight and obese children and adults based on body mass index (BMI). BMI is determined by your weight in kilograms divided by your height squared in metres.

 

Under this classification, an adult is obese when their BMI is greater than or equal to 30kg/m². Overweight adults fall into the 25 to 29.9 range. Healthy BMI figures are very different for children and young people.
 
You can work out your BMI using the NSW Department of Health's adult BMI calculator and child and teenage BMI calculator.

 

With associated health problems such as diabetes now expected to reach one million in Australia in the next year, state governments have responded with a series of childhood obesity forums and conferences as part of an initiative to tackle the problem on a primary-school level. Experts at these forums have widely attributed the rise in childhood weight gain to an increase in inactivity and poor dieting.

 

With many dieticians pointing the finger specifically at junk food, Maria Deveson Crabbe, CEO of Aussie Bodies, believes we need to redefine "junk food" and says there are some children who are avoiding junk food but still getting fatter.

 

"There have been many calls recently for schools to ban junk food from canteens and for broadcasters to ban junk food advertising but no one seems to be clear on what junk food really is," Maria says.

 

"The popular assumption is that junk food includes fried and fatty foods, fast food such as McDonalds and sugary sweets and soft drinks. Parents and educators commonly malign these foods while continuing to feed their kids what I would classify as junk.

 

"For instance, many health-conscious parents mistakenly believe their children are eating well with foods such as breakfast cereals, without taking into account the high levels of sugar and refined flour they contain. I believe these ingredients put the body in weight gain mode and lay the foundation for an overweight and potentially obese child.

 

"For instance, one bowl of rice-crisp cereal with milk may be low in fat and kilojoules but it has a high glycemic index (GI). This means it significantly raises blood glucose levels and overstimulates insulin, forcing the body to convert and store the excess glucose as fat. With insufficient activity and protein during the day, the child's metabolism remains too weak to utilise this fat for fuel as energy, so the child remains locked in fat forming mode.

 

"I would therefore class some breakfast cereals, breakfast bars and muesli bars as junk food."
 
Maria believes protein is an important factor in maintaining a healthy weight range but is consistently being overlooked as parents struggle to ensure a balanced diet for their children.

 

"Protein lowers the GI of the meal and builds up your metabolism, ensuring efficient use of kilojoules as energy instead of body fat storage. It actually rescues other foods from being stored as fat.

 

"Ensuring your child gets adequate protein in their breakfast can be impractical for most parents, especially when there is more than one child to cater for. A quick way is to whip up a fruit smoothie with plenty of protein powder. There are many exciting fruit combinations to keep the kids' senses engaged. This makes a perfect GI-lowering accompaniment to breakfast cereals or toast.

 

"A great lunchbox idea is to freeze a Protein Revival — kids love frozen drinks and they love flavoured milk. If making sandwiches, try to use wholemeal or multi-grain bread. Pre-packed slices of chicken and turkey breast are high in protein and very convenient for sandwich making. Cottage cheese will also add protein. Try to incorporate plenty of leafy green vegetables for antioxidants and fibre.

 

"Fruit is always preferred to fruit juice because, even though both are rich in vitamins, juice is essentially the sugar content extracted from the fruit (in the form of fructose). The added fibre in fruit lowers the GI. Peanut butter is fine because it contains predominantly monounsaturated fats which are healthy. Use butter but avoid all types of margarine as these contain damaged, heat-processed fats which upset the metabolism. Yoghurts can be a good source of protein but avoid the low-fat varieties as these tend to be high in sugar. Minimise muesli bars, fruit bars and breakfast bars as these are too high in sugar, flour and empty kilojoules. Cheese sticks, nuts and fruit make for far more nutritious snacks."

 

Paul Zimmet, a professor of diabetes at Monash University, pinpoints an increase in sedentary lifestyle habits as the main reason for the rise in child obesity and diabetes. He refers to it as the "nintendoisation" of society.

 

"Naturally a child can have the healthiest diet but still be in danger of becoming overweight or obese if they are not burning all those kilojoules with plenty of physical activity," Maria says.