weekender the western Friday, February 12, 2021 • FREE
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FAT SHAMED PENRITH’S FRIGHTENING HEALTH STATS REVEALED EMILY FESZCZUK
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ew data has shown that while New South Wales is the healthiest and least stressed state in the country overall, the Penrith Local Government Area (LGA) recorded high rates of concerning health issues. The Australia’s Health Report: When Healthcare Meets Self-care report has uncovered that Penrith tops the state for rates of Body Mass Index (BMI) in the overweight or obese categories. Penrith reported high rates of BMI in 72.6 per cent of cases, ahead of Maitland (70.6 per cent) and Campbelltown (70.1 per cent). Meantime Penrith was third on the list of areas that reported high levels of stress, and fourth in areas that reported high levels of diabetes. The report was developed by analysing 755,778 health checks that took place on the medical grade SiSu Health Stations in Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy stores around Australia between November 2018 and October 2020. General Practitioner and Priceline Health Expert, Dr Preeya Alexander said whilst BMI on its own is not a great indicator of ‘health’ per se, Penrith recording the state’s highest BMI readings is a concern. “Many think that obesity is related to not moving enough and eating too much but this is not the case and it actually involves a complex range of factors ranging from
genetic factors to gut health to socioeconomic factors,” Dr Alexander said. “There is no single cause that can be identified for the high BMI readings to come out of Penrith, rather it is extremely complex and the health professionals in the area are likely all required to continue to address the issue for the community.” Dr Alexander said Penrith having the fourth worst diabetes rates in New South Wales and the third highest rate of stress can be linked to certain factors. “We know in Australia that the rates of obesity and obesity related disease like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver are on the rise, so high rates of diabetes is very much linked to this issue,” she said. “For each individual the factors that contribute to stress are different, but this report generated by Priceline Pharmacy captures the period of the COVID lockdowns in Australia, so I feel it gives us some really important insights into the stress levels of Australians over a very tricky patch of life.” Dr Alexander said focusing on basic things can make a huge difference to health outcomes, as can getting regular checks from a doctor. “Keeping active aiming for 30 minutes most days and eating a diet high in fruit and veggies is not always easy to do but it can be done and the health benefits for chronic disease prevention and weight management are enormous,” she said. Story continues on » p. 9
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