Bendigo’s fizzy drink problem has it battling the bulge

Living in this regional area is bad for your waistline, with a poor diet choice contributing to the growing problem.

Regional living may be bad for your waistline, with Greater Bendigo and neighbouring Loddon Campaspe battling higher overweight and obesity levels than other Victorians.

Every two out of three adults in Greater Bendigo were overweight or obese at the last health census, and those figures were expected to have worsened during the pandemic era.

Greater Bendigo residents also reported consuming more sugary drinks than residents in the Loddon Campaspe Region, at the last active living census, taken in 2019, which could be contributing to the problem.

Nutritionist Ryan Jeffrey, of Bendigo Body Composition, said a lot of people had needed help getting back on track since the lockdowns.

“Covid had a big impact and it really put a lot of people behind the eight-ball,” he said.

“A lot of people put on weight through that time through becoming sedentary during lockdowns and not being able to keep up their fitness routines.

“A lot of people had been doing well with their health regimes up until that point.”

Bendigo nutritionist Ryan Jeffrey during a consultation. Picture: supplied.

Mr Jeffrey said the commonly used BMI measurement for large population groups could be misleading, but it was still very likely the overall picture was one of poor health.

“A really muscular professional athlete will be morbidly obese on the BMI,” he said.

“But for a population study, it is still a very helpful tool.”

Mr Jeffrey said he would urge people to seek out a BIA scan to get an accurate reflection on their personal measurements.

“It will tell you the amount of water, fat and muscle you have and you can make a plan from there and that is what I always use when people come in and want to know how they are going,” he said.

“The most important thing when it comes to changing obesity is nutrition.

“One of the most important things is to avoid feeling deprived when you are changing what you eat.

“To deal with soft drinks, it’s better to cut down from two cans a day to one can a day and after about a month, stop having them and replace them with something better.

“Most people go too hard and fast when they try to make changes. It’s better to make small changes that really add up over time.”