Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie apologises over photo appearing to show her mocking overweight people

Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie has apologised after a photo emerged online appearing to show her mocking overweight people at an obesity summit.

Minister for Sport Bridget McKenzie has apologised after a picture surfaced online of her mocking overweight people. Picture: AAP

Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie has apologised after a photo emerged online appearing to show her mocking overweight people at an obesity summit.

Senator McKenzie was photographed deliberately sticking out her tummy, puffing out her cheeks and rubbing her stomach while posing next to a National Obesity Summit placard.

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Senator Bridget McKenzie at the national obesity summit. Picture: Twitter

Yesterday, the Victorian Senator — who launched the summit in Canberra on Friday — took to Twitter to defend her actions saying she was demonstrating how she felt after a bad reaction to a heavy breakfast.

“The issue of obesity is a matter I take very seriously and would never trivialise it, or to add in any way to stigmatisation,” she tweeted.

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“I sincerely apologise for this very unfortunate photo taken as I demonstrated how my stomach felt after scrambled eggs reacted w (sic) yoghurt I had just eaten.”

According to a statement released by Senator McKenzie on Friday, two-thirds of adults and a quarter of all children aged from five to 17 years are considered overweight or obese.

According to statistics, men are more likely to be overweight as well as people who are socio-economically disadvantaged; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as those without post-school qualifications.

Originally published as Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie apologises over photo appearing to show her mocking overweight people