Osteoarthritis — the forgotten obesity-related epidemic with worse to come

Allman-Farinelli, Margaret A; Aitken, Robert J; King, Lesley A; Bauman, Adrian E

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01634.x

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To the Editor: Australia, like many other nations, is experiencing an epidemic of overweight and obesity. The most recent National Health Survey reported that 62% of men and 45% of women were overweight or obese.1 Among numerous associated concerns is the cost burden of obesity-related illnesses on individuals, the community and the health system.

1 NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
2 NSW Health, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: margallman@health.usyd.edu.au

Acknowledgements:

We thank Mr John Goss from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for supplying additional disaggregated costing information and the Australian Bureau of Statistics for supplying National Health Survey confidentialised unit record files. The New South Wales Centre for Overweight and Obesity is funded by NSW Health.

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: summary of results 2004–05. Canberra: ABS, 2006.
2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Principal diagnosis data cubes 1988–89 to 2004–05. http://www.aihw.gov.au/hospitals/datacubes/datacube_pdx.cfm (accessed Dec 2007).
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey 2001. Canberra: ABS, 2002.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey 1995. Canberra: ABS, 1997.
5. Laaksonen M, Piha K, Sarlio-Lähteenkorva S. Relative weight and sickness absence. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2007; 15: 465-472.

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