SYDNEY - AUSTRALIANS are getting fatter, with around two out of three overweight, according to official statistics released on Monday.

A quarter of the population is obese while 37 per cent are classified as overweight, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in its national health survey for 2007-2008.

The total of 62 per cent is up from 54 per cent in 2004-2005 and from 45 per cent in 1995.

The conclusions are based on the height, weight, hip and waist measurements of 22,000 Australians across the country.

Adult men are the most affected, with 68 per cent overweight or obese, while 55 percent of women fall into the same category - although their numbers are rising faster.

The highest proportion of overweight or obese people is in the middle to older age group, peaking at 65-74 years of age for men and 55-64 years for women.

But the survey also underlines a sharp increase in heavier children, with 7.8 per cent considered obese and seventeen per cent overweight.

The number of obese boys under 15 years-old more than doubled from 4.5 per cent in 1995 to 9.7 per cent in the latest survey, while girls remained unchanged at 5.8 per cent.

The bureau says obesity and its associated illnesses, such as heart disease and type-2 diabetes, cost the Australian government A$21 billion (S$23.35 billion) in 2005.

A majority of the people surveyed, however, said they were exercising regularly and most Australians consider their general health to be very good or excellent, the bureau found. -- AFP