EUGENIZATION.

Congratulations to Australia; you’ve outdone us Americans.

Australia Now World’s Fattest Nation.

Barely nudged out the win - by one percent!  Australia also sadly holds the distinction of having the fastest growing rate of childhood obesity in the world.

Some stats for your perusal (from the article):

• About 4 million adult Australians are obese.
• The “fat bomb” is ticking loudly, with 72% of middle-aged males and 58% of middle-aged females overweight or obese.
• About 1.5 million middle-aged Australians are obese and therefore at high risk of a heart attack or stroke in the longer term.
• Based on the best available evidence, our (Australians’) expanded middle-aged waistlines will result in an extra 700,000 cardiovascular-related hospital admissions in the next 20 years.
• These highly preventable admissions will cost Australia, conservatively, an extra $3 billion in health expenditure and $6 billion overall.
• An estimated 122,500 men and women will die, many prematurely, from heart problems related to their excess weight in the next 20 years.

Let’s examine the diet of your typical Australian (courtesy of foodbycountry.com) and see if we can find any clues as to why the obesity rate is so high:

A typical breakfast may consist of fruit, toast with Vegemite (a salty yeast spread), fried eggs and bacon, and juice. Lunch may be an apple or a salad (such as Grated Carrot, Apple, and Raisin salad), a sandwich filled with tuna or deli meats, and an ANZAC biscuit for a treat. (ANZAC is the acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. No one knows for sure, but many people think these biscuits were first prepared for troops—and for Australian and New Zealand families—around 1915 during World War I.) Dinnertime often brings leg of lamb or barbecued prawns (shrimp), roasted vegetables, a salad, and a custard or tart for dessert. Damper, a simple homemade bread, and billy tea, named for the pot it is heated in, both remain a staple for any meal.

Australians, like the English, call cookies “biscuits.”  Every household has a biscuit tin, a decorative round tin with a lid, to keep the supply of biscuits handy. (emphases mine)

It sounds like the Aussies eat a lot like us Yanks.  And since we’re having an obesity epidemic…

And the childhood obesity problem?

Children normally enjoy snacks during the day, such as fruit, a beverage, or a small sandwich. Milo, similar to instant hot chocolate mix, is often used as an ingredient in snacks or drunk alone. Lamingtons, Chocolate Crackles (similar to crispy rice cereal treats in North America), ANZAC biscuits, or just a simple fruit salad, are also popular among children.

I’m betting that the problem isn’t in the fruit salad.

The obesity problem in Australia (and the US, for that matter) is a crying shame.  But the way authorities choose to deal with it (similar to US public health policy) is worse still.

Beginning in the 1980s, Australian adults (like adults in many developed countries) began to improve their eating habits, according to a 1995 Australian Bureau of Statistics study. Meat, a source of saturated fat, is being consumed less. Chicken and seafood are eaten more frequently. Fruits, vegetables, and grains (emphasis mine) are also consumed more often. There is, however, also an increase in the purchase and consumption outside of the home of foods and beverages that are generally higher in fat.

Note the writer’s bias towards blaming obesity on high fat consumption. 

“…an increase in the purchase and consumption outside of the home of foods and beverages that are generally higher in fat…”

Beverages that are higher in fat?  Like a 16 oz bottle of veal gravy, perhaps?  Ahh, you protest that a milkshake is high in fat - and indeed it is, but fat is not all a milkshake contains.  There’s fruit, and milk, and…

…oh yeah (although it would more likely be high fructose corn syrup).

My advice for Australia would be the same as is for any other human:

1. Minimize grains, sugars, and starches
2. Eat meat, leaves, berries, nuts, and seeds
3. Drink non-caloric beverages
4. Lift heavy things once in awhile

How’s about it?  Any Aussies out there?  What do you typically eat?  Post to comments.