Australian and New Zealand journal of public health
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Aust N Z J Public Health · Feb 2012
National trends in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking and quitting, 1994-2008.
To describe the trends in the prevalence of smoking, quitting and initiation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women aged 18 years and over. ⋯ Health Minister Roxon has committed to halving the Indigenous smoking prevalence by 2018, and has dramatically increased Indigenous-specific funding and activity in tobacco control. The reported historical trends in this paper are encouraging as they occurred at a time when there was little such tobacco control activity focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However, to meet the Minister's goal, Indigenous smoking prevalence will need to fall more than six times as quickly as occurred from 1994 to 2008.
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Aust N Z J Public Health · Dec 2011
Validity of self-reported height and weight and derived body mass index in middle-aged and elderly individuals in Australia.
Body mass index (BMI) is an important measure of adiposity. While BMI derived from self-reported data generally agrees well with that derived from measured values, evidence from Australia is limited, particularly for the elderly. ⋯ Self-reported data on height and weight quantify body size appropriately in middle-aged and elderly individuals for relative measures, such as quantiles of BMI. However, caution is necessary when reporting on absolute BMI and standard BMI categories, based on self-reported data, particularly since use of such data is likely to result in underestimation of the prevalence of obesity.