The average Australian woman now weighs 70.1kg, up from 67kg in 1995. Men now weigh 85.2k on average, up from 82kg in the same period.
Melanie Ward, left, weighs in at 70kg which technically makes her ‘overweight’ at 163cm.
“One and a half million Australians are overweight so we’re getting heavier,” Kristen Hazelwood, head of education and prevention at the Australian Diabetes Council, said.
“Being overweight contributes to two major health issues – heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Obesity is also linked to cancer, depression and kidney disease.”
Here’s what else is on our radar:
1. Stylish kids with fashion savvy parents are apparently responsible for a boom in kiddy couture. Australians spent $1.3 billion on children’s clothing last year.
2. Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak has been sentenced to life in prison after the deaths of anti-regime protestors in 2011. His top security chief was also given life however many Egyptians believe Mubarak should have been hanged.
3. Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations have started in London with the Queen enjoying a spot of horse racing as the Thames was prepped for an enormous flotilla of more than 1000 boats and ships, which she would lead on the Royal Barge.
Here’s a fun fact: Big Ben is being renamed in honour of Her Majesty. It’ll be called Elizabeth Tower.
4. Child care fees have jumped 11 per cent in the last year according to a new report. The average fee is now $70 a day to parents.
5. Karl Lagerfeld has released a perfume called Paper Passion. It smells like books. Would you wear it?
6. ‘Positive education’ seems to be taking off in some schools around the country. Positive education focuses on counter-acting the effects of depression before they even hit. ‘Positive Psychology focuses on cultivating positive emotion, character traits and institutions,’ said Geelong Grammar, one of the schools introducing the school-wide approach.
