English
New data released by the World Obesity Federation projects 51 per cent of the global population will be overweight or obese by 2035.
That's a rise of 13 percent in 12 years.
The increase will be the fastest among children globally, and also in lower-income countries in Asia and Africa.
It predicts the economic impact of the increased rate of obesity will be 6.38 trillion Australian dollars US$4.32 trillion - about three per cent of global GDP.
Staying healthy is top of mind for Brinae Smith, an Indigenous woman who lives in Dubbo in New South Wales.
She has three children and is an advocate of step challenges and marathons - sharing her struggles with mental health and living with obesity with other mums in her local community.
"I will do the mud run in Dubbo every year and I struggle. And I tell myself I am going to complete every obstacle - and mate, I come home bruised. I fractured my coccyx (tailbone at the base of the spine) one year - and still kept doing all the events. My doctor told me I was crazy, but I told myself that I wanted to do it. And I love seeing my kids' faces when I get back to the end - or when I struggle to climb over one of the big fences, or something like that. It's my kids - they're the ones who drive me to want to be better. There are a lot of barriers out there, a lot of things out there, that could help me stay a lot bigger than I want to be. But I think if I just keep my head down and pushing through - I can achieve it."
The excess weight became a problem for her in 2020 after the onset of the pandemic, when multiple crises combined - having COVID, living in a shelter, and supporting her son recover from being in a coma after a life-threatening motorbike accident.
"And you go through a trauma of almost losing your child - and the last thing you want to think about is eating. So when you order something - and you might only be eating one meal a day, and that one meal that you're eating isn't good for you - and then you get to a point... I got to a point where I weighed myself and I was 112 kilos - and that was the biggest, I had ever been. And I was mortified and I know there are other people who are bigger - and I don't want that to sound terrible. But for me at that point of where I was in my life, that wasn't what I wanted. And I knew that I needed to better myself. I had three kids to look after and more so there was a lot going on with my son. And I needed to make sure I was around for it."
What turned it all around was wanting to be around for her children.
"With my weight, I was always aware of it - and I wasn't happy with it. But where my kids started to acknowledge it and notice it - that is when it affected me the most because I was like: I want to still be here - and go play sport with my kids."
Sydney GP Georgia Rigas says like with many health issues, early intervention is the key, but only if patients are open to asking for help - while many continue to suffer in silence.
"We firstly have this issue whereby people do not even recognise that they are living with obesity. The second fact that came out of that study was that people living with obesity tend to wait about nine years before they have that discussion with their healthcare professional. So they try to manage their weight, and more importantly the impact it has on their health on their own. And as a doctor of over 20 years, I can't think of a single other health condition where patients think that they need to do it on their own. And this really speaks to obesity stigma."
Dr Rigas says while it can be a challenging conversation to have, GPs can play an important role in helping patients feel comfortable in seeking help.
In Australia, currently 63.4% of adults and 24% of children are considered overweight or obese, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The CEO of Research Australia, Nadia Levin, says it is concerning that Australia is in the top five countries in the OECD with highest proportion of adults who are classified as overweight or obese.
"Almost 10 per cent of the total burden of disease in Australia is due to overweight and obesity. And it is the leading risk factor contributing to some pretty serious health outcomes. And from an OECD point of view, you're talking about international figures. Again, we're saying that treating diseases caused by obesity is going to cost an average of just under 10 per cent of a country's total healthcare spending. So there is the monetary side of things. But more importantly are the other health impacts where you've got children who are living with overweight and obesity and that trend is continuing and getting worse.'
For Brinae Smith, she is aware of the higher risk of chronic disease and lower life expectancy she faces as an Indigenous Australian.
Sharing her story with her community has been part of the journey - and she hopes it encourages others to seek help earlier.
"I have a lot of people back home who get really inspired by what I do and how I post my hard days, my good days - some days where I feel like I don't want to get out of bed. And I didn't realise I was doing that. That was more so for me being accountable for what I was doing. But to be able to inspire other people is what really made it worthwhile because I just consider myself a mum of three kids, running a business, completely exhausted some days. And then there are other times where I'm like: you know what? I actually smashed that (I did a stellar job), I need to be more proud of myself."
Italian
I nuovi dati pubblicati dalla World Obesity Federation stimano che entro il 2035 il 51 per cento della popolazione mondiale sarà sovrappeso o obesa.
Questo è un incremento del 13 per cento in 12 anni.
La crescita sarà la più rapida tra i bambini a livello globale, oltre che in Paesi a basso reddito dell’Asia e dell’Africa.
Si prevede che l’impatto economico dell’aumentato tasso di obesità ammonterà a 6380 miliardi di dollari australiani, ossia 4320 miliardi di dollari statunitensi – circa il tre per cento del PIL mondiale.
Restare in salute è in cima ai pensieri di Brinae Smith, una donna aborigena che vive a Dubbo, nel New South Wales.
Brinae ha tre figli ed è una sostenitrice di step challenges e maratone – condividendo così i suoi problemi con la salute mentale e la convivenza con l’obesità con le altre mamme della sua comunità.
"I will do the mud run in Dubbo every year and I struggle. And I tell myself I am going to complete every obstacle - and mate, I come home bruised. I fractured my coccyx (tailbone at the base of the spine) one year - and still kept doing all the events. My doctor told me I was crazy, but I told myself that I wanted to do it. And I love seeing my kids' faces when I get back to the end - or when I struggle to climb over one of the big fences, or something like that. It's my kids - they're the ones who drive me to want to be better. There are a lot of barriers out there, a lot of things out there, that could help me stay a lot bigger than I want to be. But I think if I just keep my head down and pushing through - I can achieve it."
Il peso in eccesso è diventato un problema per lei nel 2020, dopo l’inizio della pandemia, quando diversi eventi sfortunati si accumularono – aver contratto il COVID, vivere in una casa di accoglienza, e il dover aiutare il figlio a riprendersi dopo un incidente in moto quasi mortale.
"And you go through a trauma of almost losing your child - and the last thing you want to think about is eating. So when you order something - and you might only be eating one meal a day, and that one meal that you're eating isn't good for you - and then you get to a point... I got to a point where I weighed myself and I was 112 kilos - and that was the biggest, I had ever been. And I was mortified and I know there are other people who are bigger - and I don't want that to sound terrible. But for me at that point of where I was in my life, that wasn't what I wanted. And I knew that I needed to better myself. I had three kids to look after and more so there was a lot going on with my son. And I needed to make sure I was around for it."
Fu il suo desiderio di essere presente per i suoi figli che cambiò l’inerzia delle cose.
"With my weight, I was always aware of it - and I wasn't happy with it. But where my kids started to acknowledge it and notice it - that is when it affected me the most because I was like: I want to still be here - and go play sport with my kids."
Il medico generico di Sydney Georgia Rigas sostiene che, come per molti problemi di salute, il pronto intervento sia la chiave, ma a patto che i pazienti si aprano e chiedano aiuto, mentre molti continuano a soffrire in silenzio.
"We firstly have this issue whereby people do not even recognise that they are living with obesity. The second fact that came out of that study was that people living with obesity tend to wait about nine years before they have that discussion with their healthcare professional. So they try to manage their weight, and more importantly the impact it has on their health on their own. And as a doctor of over 20 years, I can't think of a single other health condition where patients think that they need to do it on their own. And this really speaks to obesity stigma."
La dottoressa Rigas ha detto che nonostante sia una conversazione difficile da iniziare, i medici generici possono rivestire un ruolo importante nel far sentire i pazienti a loro agio nel chiedere aiuto.
In Australia, al momento il 63.4% degli adulti e il 24% dei bambini sono considerati sovrappeso o obesi, secondo l’Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
L’Amministratore Delegato di Research Australia, Nadia Levin, ha detto che il fatto che l’Australia sia tra i primi cinque Paesi dell’Organizzazione per la Cooperazione e lo sviluppo economici (OCSE) per la percentuale di adulti obesi o sovrappeso è un dato preoccupante.
"Almost 10 per cent of the total burden of disease in Australia is due to overweight and obesity. And it is the leading risk factor contributing to some pretty serious health outcomes. And from an OECD point of view, you're talking about international figures. Again, we're saying that treating diseases caused by obesity is going to cost an average of just under 10 per cent of a country's total healthcare spending. So there is the monetary side of things. But more importantly are the other health impacts where you've got children who are living with overweight and obesity and that trend is continuing and getting worse.'
Tornando a Brinae Smith, lei è consapevole del maggior rischio di malattie croniche e di ridotte aspettative di vita che corre in quanto aborigena.
Condividere la sua storia con la sua comunità è stato parte del suo percorso – e spera che incoraggi altre persone a cercare aiuto prima.
"I have a lot of people back home who get really inspired by what I do and how I post my hard days, my good days - some days where I feel like I don't want to get out of bed. And I didn't realise I was doing that. That was more so for me being accountable for what I was doing. But to be able to inspire other people is what really made it worthwhile because I just consider myself a mum of three kids, running a business, completely exhausted some days. And then there are other times where I'm like: you know what? I actually smashed that (I did a stellar job), I need to be more proud of myself."
Report by SBS News.
