How Fat Is Your State?

**CountArach** · 07-08-2008, 03:39

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has described new statistics about obese Australians as staggering and alarming and has asked for urgent advice on how to combat the problem.

"I think it will be a shock to a lot of people that we are rated as a fatter nation than America," she said.

The Baker Heart Institute's report, Australia's Future 'Fat Bomb', found Australia may soon overtake America as the fattest nation on earth, with one in four adults classed as obese.

Report author Professor Simon Stewart has today told the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into Obesity the cost of high levels of obesity is going to be profound.

"We can only give you a conservative estimate of $6 billion in costs but it's likely to be more than $15 billion," he said.

"The fat bomb's about to go off, we need to do something about it."

Emphasis mine for hilarity

**Sigurd** · 07-08-2008, 08:53

Point one:
BMI is not the best way to measure obesity. I have had a BMI close to 30 without having much fat. Think of all the muscle hunks that falls wrongly into this statistic. I know that the strong men that compete in Viking games or Worlds strongest man have BMIs reaching the upper 40ties and a few that crosses the 50 mark.

Point two:
Fast food should be more expensive. The cheaper option should always be home made.
A whooper meal should cost around $20 and a large pizza at pizza hut should cost around $50.

I think people that really is obese, have a problem. Their addiction is food, and you can't just take it away as they will get sick.

**pevergreen** · 07-08-2008, 08:57

I dont know the conversion rate between currencies, but $50 for a large pizza, which is currently easy to find at $4.95 here...considering we are still paying the equivilant of 200% of the US$ price for many items...

**Sigurd** · 07-08-2008, 09:08

Originally Posted by pevergreen

I dont know the conversion rate between currencies, but $50 for a large pizza, which is currently easy to find at $4.95 here...considering we are still paying the equivilant of 200% of the US$ price for many items...

I guess AUD and USD are nearly the same today.
comparing the currencies shows only a 3 NoK difference.

A whooper meal costs here around 100 NoK which is very close to $20 USD.
$20 AUD is 97 NoK.
Oh and the large pizzas here costs $50 USD (for the good stuff mind you).
Another thing... Let people pay for their drink refills. All though I loved being able to drink as much as I wanted on Hungry Jacks, it will contribute to weight gain.

That said, I really would want a Sizzlers here. Damn good stuff. I predict a wealthy outcome for whomever starts the first Sizzlers restaurant here in Norway. Any wannabe millionaire out there ?

**CountArach** · 07-08-2008, 09:24

Originally Posted by Sigurd Fafnesbane

I guess AUD and USD are nearly the same today.
comparing the currencies shows only a 3 NoK difference.

A whooper meal costs here around 100 NoK which is very close to $20 USD.
$20 AUD is 97 NoK.
Oh and the large pizzas here costs $50 USD (for the good stuff mind you).

You can get good (Eg woodfire, specially-made) large pizzas here for about AU$25-$30. The largest meals at the large Burger places (ie McDonalds) are $12-$15 or so (I don't go there often, but that is what I remember).

@ pever - Only on things that require shipping from the US or Europe.

**Sigurd** · 07-08-2008, 14:38

Originally Posted by CountArach

You can get good (Eg woodfire, specially-made) large pizzas here for about AU$25-$30. The largest meals at the large Burger places (ie McDonalds) are $12-$15 or so (I don't go there often, but that is what I remember).

The comparisons would be the expensive pizzas at Pizza Hut, and I know I got a Whooper meal in AUS for $5 AUD.
Of course you could go to a more exclusive restaurant and get a hamburger for $33 AUD (not including drinks), which is inexpensive compared to other dishes on the menu. I have done that a few times with my wife and they are smokin good. You get a few potato wedges with it and some oil sprinkled salad as garnish. Damn, I feel like getting one.

**Whacker** · 07-08-2008, 14:46

That's a good point Siggy. Around here, junk food and unhealthy stuff is always dirt cheap. Healthy foods, from the mundane to the special organic stuff and the like, etc, is all VERY expensive. I think it should be the other way around. I think the other part of the issue is convenience. Many of us are on the go all day long until we go to bed, so being able to stop and prepare something for 15-30 minutes isn't always feasible. It's a bit of a weak excuse, but it is valid. Of course most of the microwave meals and all that jazz are rather unhealthy, so it becomes a bit of a vicious cycle. The last part of the equation that seems to hold true quite a bit, esp. for me personally, is that I find a lot of healthier foods taste like crap. The flipside of this is that again for me personally, some of the worst unhealthy foods tend to disgust me now. McDonalds makes me gag at this point, I really can't eat it anymore and have zero desire to.

**Marius Dynamite** · 07-08-2008, 14:54

Fast food should be more expensive. The cheaper option should always be home made.
A whooper meal should cost around $20 and a large pizza at pizza hut should cost around $50.

I disagree here, why should people have to pay more for fast food because some people are irresponsible and eat too much?

if people want to make themselves fat let them, dont make me pay the costs...