Bundy comes up with fat excuses

THE revelation that more than half of Bundaberg residents are overweight or obese has been met with plenty of excuses by the community.

THE revelation that more than half of Bundaberg residents are overweight or obese has been met with plenty of excuses by the community.

Comments sent to the NewsMail via letters to the editor, the SMS section and web comments show that many people blame the weighty problem on town planning, the council, gyms, takeaway restaurants, dogs, hot weather and busy schedules, but certainly not on themselves.

One resident said the lack of footpaths was the reason for the problem.

“Bundy needs footpaths at least, and better street lighting. I used to walk everywhere until I moved to Bundy.

“Surprise surprise, I’ve put on 5kg because it’s too dangerous to walk anywhere in this town, particularly after dark.

“It’s poor town planning and inaction on behalf of successive councils. Accessible walking paths are vital to healthy communities,” wrote an online reader.

Another reader blamed dogs roaming the streets in an SMS to the editor.

“If there were less aggressive dogs roaming the streets I would walk every day. Not many people can afford gym memberships so a safe environment would go a long way to combating this problem,” they wrote.

But weight-loss program organiser Sue Wilkens said the only thing stopping residents from trimming down was laziness.

“People don’t want to lose weight,” she said.

“They will come up with any excuse.”

Ms Wilkens said her 12-week weight loss challenge offered a fun, cheap way to shed the kilos.

“I have only had two people sign up,” she said.

“This program can change lives. Last time, one of the participants lost 15 kilos so it definitely works.”

The Herbalife weight loss challenge operates across Australia and the United States, but Ms Wilkens said it seemed Bundaberg residents were not interested.

“People will think up any excuse under the sun not to lose weight,” she said. “We can only help people so far. They need to want to do it.”

Ms Wilkens said people needed to understand the benefits of losing weight.

“It’s not only for your own health, but your self confidence as well,” she said.

For more information on the challenge, phone Ms Wilkens on 0419 385 985.

Originally published as Bundy comes up with fat excuses