The Australian Bite

Australia faces obesity epidemic

14 May 2009

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Yes it’s official – Australians are getting fatter. That’s according to the latest National Health Survey which found that almost seventy per cent of adult men and fifty five per cent of adult women are overweight or obese.  So this week we hear from obesity expert Dr Tim Gill from Sydney University, and we also visit Burnie in north-west Tasmania to hear about a healthy eating program for kids.
And on a completely different note, we meet Melbourne writer Christos Tsiolkas, whose book “The Slap”, is one of five books shortlisted for this year’s Miles Franklin award – Australia’s premier literary prize.

 Obesity on the rise in Australia

New survey results released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that there have been significant increases in the number of Australians who are overweight or obese. The National Health Survey of 2007-8 found that 68 per cent of adult men and 55 per cent of adult women were overweight or obese. Not only that, but over the last twelve years there’s been a significant increase in the proportion of children – in particular boys – who are obese (that’s seriously overweight.) So why do we have this worsening problem? I speak with Dr. Tim Gill, from the Institute of Obesity, Nutrition & Exercise at Sydney University.

You can view the Australian National Health Survey: Summary of Results, 2007-08 here at the Australian Bureau of Statistics website: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4364.0/

Teaching Tasmanian kids to eat right

At a time when as many as a third of Australian children are now considered to be overweight, a number of nutrition education programs are being put in place to help tackle the problem. Emily Shepherd is from an organisation called Eat Well Tasmania . . . which among other things runs the “Eat Right Grow Bright” kids program in Burnie, North West Tasmania. Michael McKenzie met up with Emily at the Stowport Hall in Burnie, and asked her about the organisation and how they go about encouraging kids to eat their fruit and vegetables.

 You can take a look at the Eat Well Tasmania website here: http://www.eatwelltas.com.au

Miles Franklin contender Christos Tsiolkas

The Miles Franklin Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian published novel or play portraying Australian life. It takes its name from the author Miles Franklin – an extraordinary woman who was born in 1879 and is best known for writing the Australian classic “My Brilliant Career” (1901) The shortlist for this year’s award, which will be announced on the 18th of June, consists of 5 writers, all male, and including Melbourne writer Christos Tsiolkas who joined Richard Aedy to talk about his shortlisted novel, “The Slap”.

This is an excerpt from a longer interview originally broadcast on Radio National’s “Life matters” program.  You can hear the full interview here

More on the book at the publisher’s website here: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=337&book=9781741753592

Music (not in podcast)

Six piece country rock outfit Wagons, have just released their fourth album called “The Rise and Fall of Goodtown”, which has been getting great reviews from the critics. The title track, “Goodtown”, featured on this week’s program, also has a very entertaining animated video clip that you can watch on the band’s myspace page here:  http://www.myspace.com/wagonsmusic

Artist: Wagons
Track: Goodtown
Album: The Rise and Fall of Goodtown (2009)