How dropping 3 kilos could save the national health budget

By Georgina Connery
Updated April 27 2017 - 10:13am, first published 3:05pm
The graph shows which age groups would stand to benefit most from a decrease in disease burden if Australian rates of overweight and obesity were stable or if it were reduced population-wide by one BMI point by 2020.??  Photo: AIHW
The graph shows which age groups would stand to benefit most from a decrease in disease burden if Australian rates of overweight and obesity were stable or if it were reduced population-wide by one BMI point by 2020.?? Photo: AIHW

If at risk populations reduced their weight by a little as three kilograms, Australia could avoid 14 per cent of disease related to being overweight and obese in 2020, a new study has found.