The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry report into economic growth has again highlighted concerns around the health of the state.
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Report author and Deloitte Access Economics chairman Chris Richardson said key issues such as obesity and preventative health continued to be a problem for Tasmania.
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"Tasmanians have given up smoking but appear to have taken up eating ... Obesity is getting worse relative to the rest of Australia in an ageing Tasmania," he said.
"The combination of ageing and obesity equals diabetes and all these chronic problems - we can do a lot better."
St LukesHealth chief executive Paul Lupo said while he thought the findings around the state's health weren't surprising, it did provide great insights into the regionality-related health issues faced by Tasmania.
"Tasmania has some of the worst health statistics in the nation," he said.
"In 2017-2018, more than 70 per cent of adults identified as overweight or obese [via ABS], and as mentioned in the TCCI report poorer health outcomes are highly correlated to poorer education and lower income."
More on TCCI 2019 report:
The TCCI report indicated a high proportion of Tasmanians continuing to experience socio-economic disadvantage compared to the rest of Australia. Mr Lupo said this has lead to health literacy in Tasmania not being as good as it could be.
"The challenge is the perception that it is cheaper to purchase fast foods, particularly nutritionally poor pre-made, pre-packaged foods rather than fresh fruit and vegetables especially when there are competing living costs like rent, heating and electricity," he said.
"I have mentioned before that governments need to provide urgent and adequate funding to support our communities in creating healthy lifestyle habits."
Mr Richardson said preventative health was a sector that, if improved, would aid Tasmania's overall physical and financial health.
"Prevention is the key for more sustainable health outcomes and an affordable and accessible health system and St.LukesHealth has been advocating for further investment in this area," Mr Lupo said.
"The TCCI Report shows that we know what the issues are. What we need to do is relieve the economic pressures of poor health and future-proof our state so that we are providing younger Tasmanians and their families support in forming life-long healthy habits. This also has to be balanced with the appropriate services to assist people with current conditions."
- HARRY MURTOUGH