More than half of Kiwis see themselves as overweight

By STUART DYE

More than half of New Zealanders believe they need to lose weight amid growing concerns about the health risks of obesity.

A Herald-DigiPoll survey found 52.7 per cent of people felt they needed to be thinner.

Women were harder on themselves than men, with almost 60 per cent saying they were overweight. Just over 45 per cent of men said the same.

The survey of 800 people showed how much a part of our lifestyle fast food has become. Pizzas, burgers, fish and chips and Asian meals are enormously popular takeaway meals.

The traditional family meal has taken a battering from the multimillion-dollar fast-food industry; almost one-third of people enjoy take-aways once a week, with 12 per cent eating fast food two or three times a week.

Dr Robyn Toomath, an endocrinologist at Wellington Hospital and spokeswoman for Fight the Obesity Epidemic, said the actual numbers were probably even higher.

People might not admit how much fast food they ate and young children and teenagers - not surveyed - were the biggest worry.

"In the UK they are now saying parents will start to outlive their children within a few years because of bad diets," said Dr Toomath.

In New Zealand, obesity is becoming increasingly common.

Latest Ministry of Health studies show 15 per cent of males and 19 per cent of females are obese.

Nearly four out of 10 adults are considered overweight and by 2011 it is predicted that a further three in 10 adults will be obese.

A survey of 15 industrialised countries released last week shows teenagers in the United States lead industrialised countries in being overweight.

Among American 15-year-olds, 15 per cent of girls and nearly 14 per cent of boys are obese, and 31 per cent of girls and 28 per cent of boys are more modestly overweight.

The heaviest countries, based on data from 15-year-olds, included Greece, Portugal, Israel, Ireland and Denmark.

In the Herald poll, two-thirds of people in the youngest age group polled, 18 to 39, admitted to snacking between meals. Only 3.5 per cent of all those questioned were vegetarian.

Dr Toomath said high-calorie and high-fat foods were the problem, combined with not enough exercise.

Calorie-dense diets in today's society were mismatched with a lifestyle where exercise was overlooked.

"The average young person spends a lot more time watching TV or behind a computer screen and diets are inappropriate for this," Dr Toomath said.

"If the same survey was carried out among high school students, the results would be much higher and this is the particularly at-risk group."


A survey by the Civil Aviation Authority determined that the average weight of New Zealand passengers is 85.4kg - up more than 9kg on the 1993 weight.

Other results of the Herald-DigiPoll survey included that Maori/Pacific Island people were less likely to be satisfied eating a meal without meat than Europeans or Asians.

Eighty per cent of all men would eat everything on their plate, while more than a third of women would not finish a meal.

Catching up with Americans in fat stakes


Americans are still the fattest people in the world but Europeans and others are catching up fast.

The World Health Organisation said last year that obesity was a rising concern in Europe and other developed nations because people were forsaking traditional eating habits and adopting more sedentary lifestyles.

Last week a survey of 15 industrialised countries showed countries with some of the heaviest youngsters after the United States, based on data from 15-year-olds, were:

* Greece: 5.5 per cent of girls were obese and about 16 per cent were overweight; nearly 11 per cent of boys were obese and almost 29 per cent were overweight.

* Portugal: nearly 7 per cent of girls were obese and almost 21 per cent were overweight; about 5 per cent of boys were obese and 14 per cent were overweight.

* Israel: about 6 per cent of girls were obese and 16 per cent were overweight; nearly 7 per cent of boys were obese and 20 per cent were overweight.

* Ireland: nearly 5 per cent of girls were obese and 14 per cent were overweight; almost 3 per cent of boys were obese and 19 per cent were overweight.

* Denmark: 6.5 per cent of girls were obese and 18 per cent were overweight; about 3 per cent of boys were obese and 10 per cent were overweight.

Mary Overpeck of the US Maternal and Child Health Bureau said Lithuania had the lowest obesity rates in the latest study.

About 2 per cent of Lithuanian girls and 0.8 per cent of boys were obese, and 8 per cent of girls and 5 per cent of boys were overweight.

That was probably because Lithuania had fewer fast-food restaurants and its teens had less money to buy snacks and fast food, Ms Overpeck said.