Schools and childhood obesity – Saturday paper – July 2018


Photo by Kyle Nieber on Unsplash

The statistics are sobering – according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, as many as 25 per cent of Australian children and adolescents are overweight or obese, and rates continue to grow.

Many experts say the community-wide public health effects of obesity are dire. Obesity has been linked with an increased likelihood of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The economic cost is difficult to calculate, but according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the healthcare costs, loss of productivity and carers’ costs could exceed $58 billion.

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