Australia may be known across the world for its sporting prowess, active lifestyle and outdoor culture, but behind this image lies a frightening statistic. A study this week revealed that a whopping 63 per cent of the nation’s adult population is overweight, putting us on par with the United States.
Scary, right?! The reality is that we need to take action now, and work on improving our diets and lifestyle choices to stop sabotaging the health of our country.
We spoke to nutritionist Ravinder Lilly from USANA Health Sciences (a global brand specialising in high-quality nutritional supplements and weight-management products) about why Australians are now bigger than ever and how we can take action to improve not only our waistlines, but also our overall health.
How have our diets changed over the years?
“Compared to the diet of Australians 20 or 30 years ago, today we tend to eat more fattening takeaway foods and also our portion sizes have increased in line with our weight. The British Heart Foundation estimates that in 20 years pies have grown in size by 40 per cent and takeaway curry meals by 50 per cent,” says Ravinder.
So why are we gaining more and more weight?
“Not all of us are consuming enough healthy foods such as vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, yet one third (35%) of people are consuming unhealthy processed foods. If you consider that just an extra 88 calories per day (equivalent to five jelly babies), that equals 32,120 calories per year, which could equate to 4.2 kilograms per year.”
How can we prevent becoming overweight or obese?
“Although it is difficult in our time-poor society, cooking fresh foods whenever possible is a great start. This way, you know exactly what goes into the foods as far as fat, sugar, salt and real nutrition are concerned. Preparing big batches of meals and portioning up before freezing can also help.”
What lifestyle changes can we make to start seeing an improvement in our health?
“Try to be more active every day, and watch the calories you consume in beverages. Alcohol behaves like sugar in the body, which triggers the deposition of belly fat,” says Ravinder. “Also, try weaning yourself off sugar and watch out for anything on food labels that contains anything ending with ‘–ose’, as these foods are also high in fructose, corn syrup, and honey etc.
“Also, choose to cook with healthy oils such as olive and canola, and up your intake of fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds. Pile half your plate full of veggies, a quarter with lean protein, and a quarter with wholegrain carbohydrates.”
Are you worried about the health of Australians? How do you avoid gaining weight?
