New figures show Australia’s fattest and fittest areas.

The Heart Foundation says the Darling Downs region in Queensland the most obese part of Australia, with over 44 per cent of its residents deemed ‘obese’.

In NSW, the Riverina region, which includes Griffith and Wagga Wagga, has the highest proportion of obese residents, with a third of residents registering as obese, while 81 per cent do not complete enough physical activity for good health.

At the other end of the scale, Sydney's eastern suburbs appear to be home to some of Australia’s leanest residents.

Less than 14 per cent of those in Sydney's eastern suburbs registered as obese, the Heart Foundation says.

The Victorian town of Shepparton has the dubious honour of having the highest proportion of obese residents, about 36 per cent.

Meanwhile, less than 14 per cent of the residents of inner Melbourne, from Elwood to Essendon and from Flemington to Fairfield, are considered obese.

The Heart Foundation study found that across Australia, 27.5 per cent of adults are obese, and 57 per cent do not get enough exercise for good health.

Heart Foundation chief executive Mary Barry says the fatty figures are alarming.

“Far from being the fit and active, outdoors type often portrayed, this data shows us that nearly one-third of Australians are obese and more than half are living sedentary lifestyles with little or no physical activity in their day,” she told Fairfax Media reporters.

“The truth is as a nation our waistlines are increasing while our physical activity time is decreasing.

“We are creating bodies that are breeding grounds for heart disease,” Ms Barry said.

Heart disease takes 55,000 Australian lives a year, one every 12 minutes, and is often caused or exacerbated by obesity and inactivity.

Ms Barry said losing weight and getting active for 30 minutes a day adds years to a person's life.