The Federal Government has stated that it intends to increase the population of Australia. It is estimated by Treasury that the number of Australian citizens will reach 35 million by 2049. The Federal government has identified that, to meet the challenge of the increasing population, major cities will have to increase their urban density. For this reason, the Federal Government has recently hinted that it is considering taking the initiative, and might extend its responsibilities to include housing development, land release and infrastructure — functions currently controlled by State and Local governments.
Australia’s capital cities will have to expand considerably to house new migrants. Increased urbanisation, when not accompanied by appropriate town planning, is associated with higher rates of chronic disease. Despite the migration drive, Australia’s population will continue to age, and by 2056 one in four Australians will be over the age of 65 years.
According to a paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia, increasing urbanisation is associated with higher rates of obesity, asthma and depression, unless it is accompanied by appropriate town planning that provides adequate pedestrian amenities, limits pollution, ensures public safety, encourages social cohesiveness, and allows access to fresh food.
An important finding was that major metropolitan teaching hospitals operate on a bed occupancy rate of 95% or above. The report noted that hospital overcrowding was the most serious cause of reduced patient safety. It is clear that, even at Australia’s current population of only about 20 million people, the public health system is struggling to cope with demand.
The Garling Inquiry concluded in 2008 that the New South Wales health system is in a state of crisis. An independent analysis by the Australian Medical Association has concluded that Australian public hospitals are dysfunctional, operating at full or above-full capacity, and urgently in need of increased capital funding. Australian health services are already heavily burdened. Health professionals must engage with governments to ensure that appropriate plans are put in place to accommodate the increased burden of disease that will accompany a more populous Australia.
An obesity expert from the United Kingdom believes Australia has overtaken America as having one of the unhealthiest diets in the world. Dr Tim Lobstein is the Director of Policy and Programmes for the International Association for the Study of Obesity. He is in Western Australia with Jane Landon from the National Heart Forum to host a number of public lectures on obesity for the Public Health Advocacy Institute.
Dr Lobstein says Australia’s diet has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. “We’ve found that your diets here in Australia are more fatty and oily than American diets, and we thought America was one of the worst in the world. You’ve overtaken America. Your diets are now 40 per cent calories from fats and oils and that’s a pretty shocking statistic – you should be down nearer 20. Your sugars are high, alcohol is about double what’s the recommended level of intake, and your fruit and veg are a bit under par”, he said.
Both Dr Lobstein and Ms Landon are particularly concerned about the diets of Australia’s children. He estimates about 90,000 kids in Western Australia are overweight or obese. “It means each family practice in Western Australia has probably about 2,000 overweight adults and 200 overweight kids to deal with, and they don’t really know what to do because losing weight is a real battle.”
The challenge, according to Dr Lobstein, is whether Australia can beat the trend. Failure to do so will compromise the health of our nation.
Reference: Deborah Pelser, Super size me: Is a big Australia good for our health, Medical Journal of Australia, 12 April 2010.