According to a decade-long health study in New South Wales, childhood obesity and diabetes are becoming a major problem in the state and could even cut life expectancies.
A report by the chief health officer of the state found that obesity rates amongst people aged between 16 and 24 have more than doubled in the last ten years. Rates have show from 4 per cent to just under nine per cent.
By the middle of the century, the experts indicate, life spans will be slashed if preventative measures are not taken against the obesity and diabetes epidemic . Boys can apparently be expected to live for 79 years, and girls for 84 years in the state.
Health Minister John Della Bosca reportedly said: “There needs to be a focus on making sure that as new vulnerable groups emerge in the health statistics that we respond to those immediately. We don’t collect these statistics and summarise this data just for its own sake.”
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