ONE in five Yarra Ranges residents still smokes cigarettes, despite dire health warnings, the latest Victorian Population Health Survey has revealed.
It also found that 18.2 per cent of Yarra Ranges males and 7.3 per cent of females drank alcohol at weekly high-risk levels.
Yarra Ranges residents were below the state average with their fruit consumption, with only 49.7 per cent of males and 49.9 per cent of females eating enough.
Just 8.6 per cent of the shire’s males and 9.6 per cent of females eat enough vegetables.
But more concerning was the shire’s smoking figures. Statewide, 20.2 per cent of males smoked daily or occasionally, compared with 17 per cent of females. In the Yarra Ranges, 21.6 per cent of males and 20.4 per cent of females are current smokers.
Yarra Range residents were also behind the rest of the state on physical activity. In Victoria, 63.4 per cent of people get enough physical activity, but in the Yarra Ranges that figure is just 60.5 per cent of males and 62.3 per cent of females.
The report also found that in the Yarra Ranges, 43.5 per cent of males and 23.8 per cent of females were overweight, and 14.0 per cent of males and 20.2 per cent of females were classified as obese.
In neighbouring Cardinia, 19.1 per cent of males and 17.7 per cent of females are current smokers. The report found 15 per cent of males and 7.2 per cent of females drank alcohol at weekly high-risk levels.
In Cardinia, 42.5 per cent of males and 25.8 per cent of females were overweight, while 18.8 per cent of males and 23.3 per cent of females were classified as obese.
Just 51.4 per cent of Cardinia females got enough physical activity, and the shire also fell below the state average for appropriate fruit and vegetable consumption.
Health Minister David Davis released the 2009 report on 29 January. It foun0d that Victorians did not eat enough fruit and vegetables, and more were becoming obese.
“Just 52 per cent of the people surveyed for the current report met the recommended minimum daily intake of two or more serves of fruit,” Mr Davis said.
“And less than one in 10 met the target of five or more serves of vegetables each day.”
