HEALTH KICK: Wangaratta mother Nicki Jory makes sure her children Emma (3) and Leah (19 months) get all their nutrients by eating healthy fresh fruit and vegetables. PHOTO: Cheryl Browne

OBESITY RISING: Latest study shows little appetite for healthy foods

Written by By STEVe Kelly.

WANGARATTA has a growing obesity problem, according to the latest state research.

The Victorian population health survey 2009 shows more than one in five of the rural city’s females are obese.

And it’s even worse for males, at 29.6 per cent - much heftier than Wodonga (19.2 per cent), Benalla (17.3 per cent) and Indigo Shire (16.2 per cent).

A person is classified as obese when their Body Mass Index (BMI) is 30 or more kg/m2 - your BMI is defined by your weight divided by the square of your height.

According to the survey, 38.2 per cent of males and 29.2 per cent of females are overweight in Wangaratta (their BMI is from 25 to 29.9).

Victorian Health Minister David Davis said while the proportion of men and women who were overweight has remained constant from 2003 and 2009, the prevalence of obesity has increased.

And it appears our appetite, or lack of, for exercise and healthy foods is largely to blame.