Since September 11, Australia has lost fewer people on Australian soil to terrorism than we lose in a day to the ravages of obesity-related conditions. Credit:Steve Cassell AHPC director Rosemary Calder said the data challenged assumptions that health was the result of personal choices. She said leafy suburbs such as the western suburbs were physically attractive, engaging environments that prompted walking with well established paths and public transport. "Most Australians don't live in leafy suburbs, but suburbs increasingly separated and distant from growing cities – car dependent, with poor public transport and long distances to work," she said. "Low socio-economic suburbs have high densities of fast food outlets and fewer fresh food outlets because they go where people have less income and make cheaper choices. Our environment skews our choices; not the other way around."

ACT Health made repeated requests for information. Credit:Louie Douvis Highest rates of obese and overweight children in WA Balga – Mirrabooka/Nollamara – Westminster 31.9 per cent Canning – North 31.4 per cent Katanning 31.3 per cent Wanneroo – South 30.6 per cent Butler – Merriwa – Ridgewood/Clarkson 30 per cent The western suburbs were on the other end, with rates closer to 19-20 per cent.

Highest rates of obese and overweight adults in WA Seville Grove 71.2 per cent Armadale – Wungong – Brookdale 70 per cent Collie 68.9 per cent Kwinana –West 68.7 per cent Roeburne – 68.3 per cent The national average was 63.4 per cent. While not making the top five, the area of Butler – Merriwa – Ridgewood/Clarkson was sixth with 68 per cent. The areas with the highest rates of diabetic adults was similar (Kwinana West, Armadale-Wungong-Brookdale, Wanneroo-South, Roeburne and Broome). But it was diabetic adults in regional areas who had the highest rates of early death from the disease, the top eight all being in the Kimberley, Mid West or Pilbara.

Perth city, the western suburbs and inner ring suburbs such as Como/South Perth, Manning, Mt Lawley and East Fremantle again were best performing with rates closer to 50 per cent. But before you flee to the western suburbs, consider: Highest rates of adults drinking at 'risky' levels (compared to 18.2 per cent national average) Cottesloe – Claremont – South 31.5 per cent Busselton region 30.1 per cent East Fremantle/Fremantle 29.8 per cent Fremantle – South/O'Connor 28.7 per cent Augusta/ Margaret River 28.1 per cent Lowest rates of adults drinking at 'risky' levels

Madeley – Darch – Landsdale 11.5 per cent Canning – North 12.6 per cent Morley 12.7 per cent Canning Vale – East/Huntingdale – Southern River 13.1 per cent Noranda, 13.4 per cent and Balga – Mirrabooka/Nollamara – Westminster 13.4 per cent Professor Calder said this phenomenon was clear in the data for all Australian cities, reflecting a culture of acceptance of unhealthy levels of drinking. As well as being socially acceptable, alcohol was also one of the higher cost options, with well-resourced people able to indulge in consistent use of alcohol. Balga–Mirrabooka/Nollamara–Westminster could be considered to illustrate, having one of the lowest risky drinking rates but the highest rate of overweight or obese children. The highest smoking rates were found in Carnarvon, South Hedland, west Kwinana, Roeburne and the Armadale-Wungong-Brookdale area, all nearing 30 per cent.

The lowest rates were in the western suburbs, where fewer than 10 per cent of people smoked. Most sedentary areas (adults who undertook low or no exercise over preceding week) Gnowagerup/Koonup 79 per cent Brookton 75.5 per cent Kulin/Murray/Wagin 74.2 per cent Katanning 73.5 per cent Dowerin/Moora/Toodyay 72.8 per cent The top 10 spots all went to regional areas, the first metropolitan areas to appear being the outer suburbs of Armadale and Wanneroo.

The highest rates of early death from cardiovascular disease all went to regional areas in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Mid West. Professor Calder said assumptions that country living was physically active living were dangerous. Country homesteads themselves sprawled, and if there was no public transport, country people had to drive everywhere in their community and were as likely as anyone in the metropolitan area to "drive and drop" their children to school. While the western suburbs were the most active in the state, rates of physical inactivity remained alarmingly high, still near 50 per cent compared to the 44.5 per cent national average. "It's cultural behaviour, because of our long working hours and parents delivering children to school then collecting them," Professor Calder said.

"We have among the most chauffeured children in the world. Everything we are doing, in our social, employment and neighbourhood patterns, is creating barriers to activity, good nutrition and healthy weight." The dataset also includes rates of high blood pressure, cholesterol, early deaths, cancer, cancer screening and suicide. The AHPC has drafted a policy, Getting Australia's Health on Track, calling on federal, state and local governments collaboration to invest in its 10 policy priorities "known to be evidence based and effective, that will help communities do better." One such priority is a national Active Travel to School strategy to encourage communities to engage with a similar system to "park and ride" to ensure children walk at least one kilometre a day back and forth. "We need a prescription for health as much as we need one for disease," Professor Calder said.

"What is counted gets done. We do count but we don't learn. We don't analyse what we have counted. This shows us how to learn. We need to be aware – both politically and socially – that we are a nation at risk. Our children, particularly, are at risk. That is not OK." Follow WAtoday on Twitter