A report by the National Health Performance Authority in 2013 previously showed the Loddon-Mallee-Murray region, including Bendigo, had the highest obesity rate in Australia.

Heart Foundation analysis released on Monday of new ABS data on Australia's levels of obesity and physical activity puts Bendigo as the 30th worst performing region in the country.

While it found 29.4 per cent of Bendigo residents were obese and 63.7 per cent were not getting an adequate amount of physical activity each week, the data showed many other regions fared far worse.

The data shows the Bendigo region - defined as Bendigo, Castlemaine, Heathcote, Kyneton, Loddon and Elmore - performed much better compared to our regional Victorian counterparts and to many nationally.

Shepparton had the worst ranking for Victoria and the third highest nationally when it came to obesity, with a 36.1 per cent obesity rate.

Ballarat, the ninth worst for obesity in the country, was also the worst performing when it came to people who were inactive, with 85.3 per cent not getting enough exercise.

Heart Foundation chief executive Mary Barry said Australia wide, the statistics were alarming and sobering.

"The truth is as a nation our waist lines are increasing while our physical activity time is decreasing," she said. 

"We are creating bodies that are breeding grounds for heart disease."

Greater Bendigo's acting manager Active and Healthy Communities Lincoln Fitzgerald said the data for Bendigo might indicate recent initiatives to combat obesity rates had been working.

"It was no coincidence the City was selected to participate in the State Government’s Healthy Together Victoria initiative as Bendigo residents have consistently rated poorly on a number of health indicators, including overweight and obesity levels," he said.

"Healthy Together Bendigo has allowed the City to raise awareness of the importance of developing good overall health and wellbeing and regular physical activity habits."