To the Editor: Over the past 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in the Australian population has more than doubled — from 8.1% in 1981 to 20.5% in 2000.1,2 The rapid and widespread nature of the obesity epidemic suggests that environmental change is a major contributing factor.
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Correspondence: davidcs@deakin.edu.au
- 1. National Heart Foundation of Australia. Risk factor prevalence study No. 1 — 1980. Canberra: National Heart Foundation, 1980.
- 2. Dunstan D, Zimmet P, Welborn T, et al. Diabesity and associated disorders in Australia 2000: the accelerating epidemic. Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Report. Melbourne, International Diabetes Institute, 2001.
- 3. Burns C, Jackson M, Gibbons C, Stoney RM. Foods prepared outside the home: association with selected nutrients and body mass index in adult Australians. Public Health Nutr 2002; 5: 441-448.
- 4. From wallet to waistline: the hidden costs of super sizing. Washington, DC: National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, June 2002. Available at <http://www.preventioninstitute.org/portionsizerept.html>. Accessed 8 November 2002.
- 5. Australian and New Zealand Food Authority. Available at <http://www.foodstandards.gov.au>. Accessed 8 November 2002.
- 6. National nutrition survey: selected highlights, Australia 1995. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1998.
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