More than two-thirds of
Australians living outside major cities are overweight or obese, and extremely
obese corpses are creating a safety hazard at mortuaries, according to two
studies released Sunday.
Nearly three quarters of men
and 64 percent of women were overweight in a study of people in rural areas.
Just 30 percent of those studied recorded a healthy weight, said research
published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
"Urgent action is
required at the highest level to change unhealthy lifestyle habits by improving
diet, increasing physical activity and making our environments supportive of
these objectives," wrote the lead researcher, Professor Edward Janus.
The figures were much higher
than for the general population, where statistics show about 3.2 million of
Meanwhile, pathologists are
calling for new "heavy-duty" autopsy facilities to cope with obese
corpses that are difficult to move and dangerously heavy for standard-size
trolleys and lifting hoists.
The bodies presented
"major logistical problems" and "significant occupational health
and safety issues," according to a separate study, which found the number
of obese and morbidly obese bodies had doubled in the
past 20 years.
Specially designed mortuaries
would soon be required if the nation failed to curb its fat epidemic, providing
"larger storage and dissection rooms, and more robust equipment,"
said Professor Roger Byard, a pathologist at the University
of Adelaide.
"Failure to provide these
might compromise the post-mortem evaluation of markedly obese individuals, in
addition to potentially jeopardizing the health of mortuary staff."
In the past year, there have
also been requests for larger crematorium furnaces, bigger grave plots as well
as super-sized ambulances, wheelchairs and hospital beds.
