Outraged after being labelled Canberra's fattest and laziest suburb in a recent ACT Heart Foundation survey, Tuggeranong residents questioned survey creators face to face.
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The Tuggeranong Community Council May meeting last Tuesday took a lively turn as residents voiced a wide range of concerns about the accuracy of the survey.
Somewhat embarrassed to take the number one spot for obesity and inactivity, residents suggested the survey failed to account for variables such as the age of residents in each of the surveyed areas or the lack of safe footpaths and cycling routes in the valley.
ACT Heart Foundation health manager Anthony Burton defended the results and said statistical rigour was adhered to.
He said age standardisation had been employed in the 3000 participant study to allow for an accurate comparison of areas with different age profiles.
Mr Burton suggested the community lobby for change.
"What this survey can do for the people of Tuggeranong is become a strong tool to advocate for change to the built environment," he said.
Acting chairwoman Glenys Patulny said she hoped what was an "awful headline" could be used to leverage the ACT government to resolve issues of poor accessibility and safety identified as prohibitive to being active in Tuggeranong.
