Obesity in Australia and bicycle helmet laws

Obesity in Australia and bicycle helmet laws: "Obesity in Australia versus
bicycle helmet laws

This page displays press clippings concerning Australian public health.
All research papers warn of worsening rates of obesity in Australia with much of the blame attributed to our increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

Australia is one of only two countries in the world with national all-age helmet laws which discourage one of society's most popular, healthy, safe and enjoyable forms of recreational transport and exercise - bike riding. In June 2008, research at Melbourne's Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute found that Australia is now the fattest nation on earth. Download Australia's future fat bomb (PDF 2.3mg).

Research published by Deakin University in October 2009 shows that Australian pre-school children spend 85% of their waking hours inactive. One in seven Australians will be suffering type 2 diabetes by 2050, according to a study also published in October 2009 by the University of Canberra's National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling.

Australians who wish to exercise frequently by cycling are punished if they don't use uncomfortable, inconvenient and potentially dangerous helmets, and as a result many choose not to exercise."