Australian Women Fatter, Less Interested in Sex

Australian women are fatter and less interested in sex than a decade ago with many more single and childless, according to a government report released to mark International Women’s Day on Tuesday.

The “Women in Australia 2004” report also showed that almost three quarters of the nation’s women did little or no exercise and continued to earn less than males, receiving on average 84 percent of the amounts earned by the opposite sex. But more women than men were studying and women’s labor force participation has hit its highest level with 66 percent of all women working. “Today is about celebrating those achievements and inspiring a commitment to sustaining and improving the position of women in Australia,” Family and Community Services Minister Kay Patterson said in a statement. The report showed the median age of Australian women has increased to 36.9 years in 2003 from 30.8 years in 1983, more than half are not interested in sex and about a quarter won’t have children. The number of women living alone rose to 13 percent in 2003 from 11 percent a decade earlier, while around 43.2 percent of women were now likely to be overweight and 17.4 percent were likely to be obese. The report was compiled using a variety of studies from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and health organizations.(Source: Reuters Health, March 2005)