Bariatric Services
an overview

Australia is facing an epidemic of obesity and obesity related diseases. Year on year, the proportion of the population that is either obese or overweight is increasing. Australia now has the highest proportion of overweight children and teenagers in the world. The overweight and obesity rates for 15 to 18 year olds have doubled between 1986 and 2000. When discussing obesity, doctors tend to talk about your Body Mass Index or BMI. The BMI is the ratio between a patient’s weight in kilograms divided by their height squared. If your BMI is greater than 25, you are overweight; greater than 30, you are obese; greater than 35, severe obesity; greater than 40, morbidly obese. 

In terms of health, if your BMI is greater than 35, you are one and a half times more likely to die than someone with a normal BMI and when your BMI reaches 40, you are two and a half times more likely to die. To put it another way, having a BMI of greater than 30 is the equivalent of smoking 10 cigarettes per day. Read more about obesity..

A good place to start

Use our interactive BMI calculator to determine your weight range, from healthy - morbidly obese. You will be presented with information specific to your requirements.

BMI Calculator