In 2015, the Riverina was bestowed the dubious honour of being the fattest region in NSW, with a third of residents deemed obese.

Next time you visit the Marketplace or take a stroll down Baylis Street, glance around and judge for yourself.

Are there thousands of locals making bad choices about how they eat and exercise? You betcha.

Does that make them flawed people? No chance.

The reasons for people overeating are as complex and nuanced as the human mind itself.

We’re all imperfect, we all have vices.

The fact some people have an unhealthy relationship with food just happens to be their vice.

It doesn’t mean they are weak-willed or self-indulgent.

Many of those quick to judge or blithely suggest overweight people should just “eat less” have their own character chinks.

But some flaws are easier to hide than others.

The truth is, in the era of carefully curated social media profiles and societal obsession with body image, there’s never been more pressure on us to keep in shape.

Perversely, it comes at the same time as access to calorie-dense junk food has never been easier.

It’s hardly a surprise an increasing number of locals are opting for quick fix surgery like gastric sleeves and gastric bypasses.

Over the past five years, Wagga’s leading bariatric surgeon has seen procedure numbers double.

This is partly due to changing perceptions in the medical fraternity, and in the wider community, about bariatric surgery as a legitimate, evidence-based way to help patients lose weight.

The federal government even allows some patients to dip into their superannuation early to pay for the operation.

Of course, the first approach to losing weight should always involve eating better and moving your body more. But if that doesn’t work, then no one should be ashamed of relying on the medical safety net of weight loss surgery.

Especially when that surgery is changing lives, and in some cases, saving lives.