Australia now world's obesity champion...

Australia is officially the heavyweight champion of the world, according to new figures showing the nation has a greater proportion of obese citizens than the United States.

The latest comprehensive obesity study has shown that 26% of adult Australians - almost four million - are now obese, one million more than the last calculation in 1999.

The findings give Australia top spot as the world's most overweight nation, ahead of the notoriously super-sized Americans, who have a 25% obesity rate.

"That, unfortunately, makes us the heavyweight champions, a title we don't really want," said Professor Simon Stewart, head of preventative cardiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.

Experts are now calling for extreme measures like gym discounting and denial of surgery based on body mass index to rectify the situation.

The report, entitled Australia's Future Fat Bomb, was released ahead of the federal government's obesity inquiry. More...

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