BOTH obesity and tobacco use incidences are higher in regional Australia than in cities, according to two new reports from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The Healthy Communities reports look at local-level variation in obesity and smoking rates across Australia's 31 Primary Health Network (PHN) areas.
PHNs are organisations that connect health services over local geographic areas.
Obesity rate comparisons reveal extremes: "16% of adults who were shown to be obese in Central and Eastern Sydney, compared with 38% in Country South Australia" said AIHW spokesperson Michael Frost.
Smoking rates had similar profiles: "Northern Sydney had the lowest rate of daily smoking at around 5%, while Western NSW had the highest rate of 23%," Frost said.
Both reports are available at MyHealthyCommunities.gov.au.
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