CANBERRA, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Australia's wealthier suburbs tend to be home to healthier populations compared to the nation's lower class suburbs, national health data released on Thursday has shown.
Researchers from the Australian Health Policy Collaboration, a brainchild of Victoria University and Torrens University, released Australia's Health Tracker on Thursday, which showed vast discrepancies in the general health of Australians in richer areas and neighborhoods closer to the city compared to those who live in poorer and more rural areas.
In wealthier, inner city suburbs in Melbourne, around 55 percent of people were considered to be overweight, while in poorer suburbs, 71 percent of people were considered to be overweight or obese, something the Australian Health Policy Collaboration said put them at higher risk of developing cancers, diabetes and heart disease.
The story is much the same in Australia's largest city, Sydney. Researchers found that poorer areas in Sydney's west were considerably more overweight than areas closer to the CBD, in Haymarket and The Rocks, the rate of overweight and obese Australians was at just 45 percent.
Professor Maximilian de Courten, epidemiologist from Victoria University, summed it up by saying "wealthier (zip) codes were healthier zip codes", while Dr. Andrew Knight, a GP and senior lecturer at the University of NSW said those in rural areas and poorer suburbs often lived further away from vital health services.
"The higher you are on the pecking order, the healthier you are... There is a clear gradient across the country," Knight told Fairfax Media.
Overall the Australian Health Policy Collaboration said 63.4 percent of Australian adults were considered to be overweight or obese, while almost one in five Australians were drinking alcohol at "risky" levels.
Researchers from the Collaboration said they hope the study will help lawmakers plan ways to help the community combat poor health.
"Australia's Health Tracker by Area is one part of a series of resources that were designed to enable better accountability and action on chronic diseases," the Australian Health Policy Collaboration said.
"The local area profiles of health data can be used to inform service planning, commissioning and research. The profiles can also be used to compare the data from one area against national chronic disease prevention and reduction targets."
