Sydney, November 11 (IANS). A new research has shown a direct link between high-speed internet and the increasing obesity rates in Australia.
According to a new research, obesity is increasing rapidly in Australia due to internet activities like online gaming and continuous watching of videos on streaming platforms.
Access to high-speed Internet connections makes individuals less likely to meet the minimum physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization.
“Access to a high-speed Internet connection makes individuals less likely to meet the minimum physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO),” said senior author of the study, Klaus Ackermann, from Monash University in Melbourne.
The research team from Monash University, the University of Melbourne and RMIT University used data from the Australia-wide Household, Income and Labor Dynamics (HILDA) survey covering the period 2006-2019 to explore the impact of high-speed internet on obesity. Analyzed.
“A one percent increase in the National Broadband Network (NBN) adoption rate is associated with an increase in the prevalence of obesity,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Ackerman said that the desire to snack frequently increases when using high-speed Internet.
Furthermore, he said that the Internet has made access to goods and services easier, reducing the need to physically work. Along with this, it has reduced the need to meet in person with friends and family.
Official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in December 2023 showed that 65.8 per cent of Australian adults were either overweight or obese in 2022, compared to 62.8 per cent in 2012.
The federal government’s National Obesity Strategy to 2022 estimated that obesity cost the Australian community A$11.8 billion ($7.7 billion) in 2018.
–IANS
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