Rather than taxing foods, Australia needs a cultural shift towards being active. It is time to make sport and recreation more accessible and affordable, writes Amy Bainbridge.

It's a regular question from family and friends. "What athletic feat have you been up to lately?"

I'm often called "crazy" because I love to run and swim. I'm sad to say, these days, a love of being active makes me abnormal. It also makes me a little sad - because the amount of exercise I do could be considered 'moderate' at best. It's sad, because somewhere along the way, being an active Australian has become unusual. It shouldn't be.

Australians work some of the longest hours in the developed world. Many of us spend plenty of time each week commuting to work. We love to reward ourselves with a meal out and something to drink. Many of us sit at a desk all day and the kilos creep on without much thought.

There's little time left in the day to be active, and to put some thought into what we put into our mouths. We're neglecting our health, and we're getting fatter as a result and putting a strain on our health system.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released new guidelines this week in an effort to tackle our spiralling obesity problem. If current trends continue, the NHMRC says a staggering 83 per cent of men and 75 per cent of women will be obese in 10 years. Unsurprisingly, it says we need to change our diets and ramp up the exercise to prevent this from happening. It says obesity now costs Australia $21 billion a year, and it has overtaken smoking as the greatest risk factor for disease and injury. Frightening stuff. You can read more about the healthy eating guidelines here.

At the same time in Europe, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has called for a tax on sugary drinks to stymie a ballooning obesity epidemic. The report Measuring Up describes the UK as the 'fat man' of Europe. It says a quarter of men and women are obese or overweight. And one in five children aged between 10 and 11 are overweight or obese. The report goes on to say that obesity levels in the Western world are reaching 'unprecedented proportions', and that there is a growing acknowledgement that we are facing one of the biggest threats to public health in the 21st century.

So, in this context, talk has been raised of a 'fat tax'. The college suggests raising the cost of sugary drinks by 20 per cent. I've previously written that something drastic needs to be done but a simple tax isn't addressing the root of the problem. We need some tough love, but we need to go further. And we must deal with our inactivity, combined with our growing love of large portion sizes.

We need a cultural shift towards being active. While I'm all for introducing compulsory boot camps for employees in sedentary jobs, I'm also a realist. We need achievable goals, changes that can be worked into our lifestyle. The NHMRC says we now need to exercise for 45 minutes to one hour a day to be healthy. It was previously thought that 30 minutes a day would be enough. This is achievable, I promise.

Rather than taxing foods, Governments should be looking for incentives for businesses to support their employees get regular exercise. This could be in the form of tax break on activities, gym memberships or other tailored fitness.

It worries me that in sport, we are fast becoming a society of the 'haves' versus the 'have nots'. Those who can afford to participate in sport and recreational activities they enjoy, and the others who cannot afford to do so.

Instead of talking taxes, we should be making sport and recreation more accessible and affordable. Swimming lessons for children are popular, but are increasingly expensive. A casual swim can be expensive, too. In Hobart in December, it cost $7.40 to swim at the city's main indoor pool. Casual visits to most gyms cost around $20 - they're shamelessly trying to force you to commit to a membership, which can be more than daunting. On top of that, memberships themselves can be expensive and you'll be penalised if you drop out earlier than your contract. Gyms don't suit everyone anyway.

On top of this, we need to encourage people to get incidental activity into their day. To walk to the bus stop, to the train station. Take the stairs, not the escalator or the lift. Get out of the car and ride a bike. Take a break at lunch time, even if it's just for a 20 minute walk. It's all achievable. Various campaigns have tried to impress this message upon us. It's not getting through. Why not? Forcing people to pay more for bad food isn't the solution. Positive change is.

Amy Bainbridge is the ABC's consumer affairs reporter. View her full profile here.