Fat’s a fact in obesity scourge

There are exceptions to every rule, or in this case, statistic. Emma Simkin and Jade Baynes are from the northern side of Geraldton — but they’re as fit as anybody from the “fitter” southern side of the city. New figures have found Geraldton’s south is the best part of country WA in terms of having the smallest proportion of residents with obesity. Northampton-born Ms Simkin and Ms Baynes, who plays for the Northampton women’s footy side, work out daily for their fitness. It’s part of the job for Ms Simkin, the general manager of Snap Fitness. She says there has been an increase in the number of people making general health a priority. “Normally we (fitness club) go quiet in December . . . but not last month,” she said. “In fact, we had 14 people sign as members on December 30. “The interest has not dropped; actually it has increased.” However, to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle, she said it was more important people watched what they ate. “You cannot out-train a bad diet, no matter how much you work out,” Ms Simkin said. “Eighty per cent is about what we eat, and 20 per cent about exercise.” *** Geraldton south and Geraldton north have been having a “water polo war” for the past two years. It is when past and present water polo players, who live on either side of the CBD, clash for bragging rights. Now south have won a much bigger battle — and not just against their northern rivals, but also every town in the State. Geraldton south is the best in country WA for having the smallest proportion of residents with obesity. Figures from the Public Health Information Development Unit at Torrens University in Adelaide show 23.8 per cent of people in Geraldton south are obese. Collie was the worst-rated country town with 43 per cent of residents being obese. The news is not good for WA in general, with obesity rates the highest ever. In WA, nearly 67 per cent of people are classified as being overweight or obese. The World Health Organisation classifies overweight as somebody with a body mass index of 25 or higher and obese as having a BMI of 30 or higher. WA had the highest proportion of overweight people of any State, but the second lowest rate of obese people. “The data is a shocking reality check for Australia,” Professor John Glover, of Torrens University, said. “The gap in premature mortality is bigger than it’s ever been.”