The Report Of The Chief Health Officer released today by NSW Health

In 2005 more than half of all men (57.5 per cent) and almost half of all women (42.3 per cent) over 16 years old were overweight or obese, up from 56 per cent and 41 per cent in 2003.

Almost 25 per cent of school kids were overweight or obese and rates had skyrocketed in the past 20 years. The report blames sedentary lifestyles and high consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food such as soft drinks for much of the ill health in NSW.

Half of all adults and a quarter of school students don't get enough exercise each day.

Only 4.7 per cent of men, 10.1 per cent of women and 20 per cent of children reported eating the recommended five vegetables a day. Yet 60 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls drank more than 250 millilitres of soft drink a day.

As a result, the number of people with diabetes or high blood sugar has almost doubled in the past decade to 8 per cent of men and 7 per cent of women.

Other key findings included a halving of the death rate between 1972 to 1994 and a 12-year increase in life expectancy for men and 10 years for women over the past decade. Although women could still expect to live longer than men (83.7 years compared to 78.8 years), the gap is closing.