National Health Performance Authority figures show country towns losing obesity battle New figures show the obesity battle is being lost in many country WA towns. THE battle against obesity is being lost in WA's small country towns. New figures show almost 40 per cent of the people in Pinjarra, Waroona and surrounding areas are obese putting them among the six fattest areas in Australia. And the South-West and Goldfields-Midwest regions both recorded obesity rates of 35 per cent, which is above those recorded in the Perth metropolitan area. Heart Foundation WA chief executive Maurice Swanson said special programs, such as cooking classes for kids at school, were needed to help lower obesity rates in regional and disadvantaged areas. He said people in lower socio-economic areas found it harder to lose weight because those areas were targeted by junk-food advertisers. "It's a health disaster, but a commercial success," he said, suggesting that the State Government had a responsibility to help people in disadvantaged communities. "They (the Government) should put in more resources to help them (the people) achieve and maintain a healthy weight and they could do that by, on the food side, controlling the advertising and promotion and availability of junk foods and junk drinks," he said. On the physical environment side, they could put more resources into designing the suburbs and the links with those suburbs through public transport so that people find it easier to be more active. The figures were compiled by the National Health Performance Authority and compared 2011/12 data from different Medicare Local areas across Australia. The Perth South Coastal Medicare Local catchment area which includes Pinjarra, Waroona, Yarloop and Dwellingup recorded a combined obesity and overweight rate of 72 per cent. Across the country, the top five areas with the highest percentage of overweight or obese people were all regional and rural areas, including the Goldfields-Midwest region, which had a prevalence of 74 per cent. The Perth North Metro Medicare Local, which covers suburbs from Osborne Park to Two Rocks and inland to Mirrabooka, had the lowest percentage of obese and overweight people in the state. Its chairman Alistair Vickery, who is Professor of Primary Health Care at the University of Western Australia, said obesity was causing major problems for individuals and the health system. "Obesity is a huge burden on our health system, with more people needing medical services and hospital beds for conditions associated with obesity," Prof Vickery said. The most important messages we want to get across are that there is help available if you are struggling with your weight, it doesn't cost a lot, and it's never too late to improve your health. Cancer Council WA nutrition and physical activity manager Steve Pratt said changing perceptions about the affordability of healthy foods was a key to winning the battle against the bulge. "There is a perception still that healthy food is more expensive, or considerably more expensive, and that's not always the case," he said. Mr Pratt said it was ironic that some of the areas with high levels of obesity were agricultural areas. "People should be able to have access to fresh in-season fruit and vegetables and it should really be cheaper than chocolate and those types of things," he said.