A revealing new survey from LiveLighter has painted a stark picture of the health of Australian adults – we’re heavier than we think, we’re too busy to cook, healthy eating is difficult to achieve, we’re still not eating enough veggies and some of us do no exercise at all, but there is a positive as well.
On the plus side, almost half of us are trying to do something about our weight, Aussies in their forties are leading the way in fitness and popular cooking shows are inspiring us to get cooking and healthy eating.
LiveLighter’s annual Shape of Australia survey analysed the health, nutrition and physical activity behaviours of more than 2,000 Australians aged 25-49.
Among the key findings were:
- Almost half (43%) of us are trying to lose weight, and people whose weight is classified as overweight or obese are more than twice as likely than those in the normal weight range to be attempting to do so (62% vs 27%).
- We underestimate our size: 1 in 3 people (35%) whose weight is in the overweight or obese range describe themselves as being of average weight.
- Cooking shows motivate us to cook, but when it comes to the crunch, we don’t have time: 1 in 3 Australians (35%) reported that popular TV shows such as MasterChef inspired them to cook more, but a lack of time prevents 2 in 5 (42%) from doing so.
- Aussies aged 45-49 were the most active, with 1 in 4 (28%) meeting physical activity guidelines. Of most concern, 1 in 7 Australians (14%) do no exercise at all.
- Half of Australians (50%) eat the recommended two serves of fruit each day, but only 1 in 10 (11%) get enough vegies – alarmingly, 1 in 5 Aussie homes (20%) reported household members who won’t eat them at all.
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