Description
Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns in the Australia today. An estimated 14 million Australians are overweight or obese while obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of premature death in the country. They are a major burden the health and well being of the general population and substantially add to the national health care budget. According to Brown and Summerbell (130) the number of overweight and obese adolescents has continued to grow despite a raft of measures that have been put in place to mitigate the situation. According to Siobhain & Natasha (1), the rate of obesity in children under 18 years has increased steadily from 1980s and today it is estimated that about 23-24% of Australian children are overweight while 5-6% are considered obese.