The Sunshine State holds five of the top 10 spots on the Heart Foundation's CPI – "Couch Potato Index" - with the Darling Downs-Maranoa district ranking number one.

The report shows 44 per cent of locals in that region are obese, with 75 per cent not active enough for good health.

Also in the top 10 were Ipswich (4th), Mackay (5th), Fitzroy (8th) and Toowoomba (10th).

Heart Foundation Queensland health director Rachelle Foreman said these were sobering statistics for the start of Heart Week.

"The image of a typical Queenslander is often of a fit, active, outdoor person but these statistics are painting a very different picture, particularly in regional areas," she said.

"In fact, we are largely a state of couch dwellers ... we are creating bodies that are breeding grounds for heart disease."

The Heart Foundation's survey was drawn from the 2011/12 Australian Health Survey conducted by the Bureau of Statistics.

It shows more than one in four adult Australians have a body mass index (BMI) over 30, putting them in the obese category.

More than one in three are overweight, with a BMI between 25 and 30.

One in five Australians (more than 3.4 million) do no physical activity at all, while only half do sufficient levels of exercise – 150 minutes from five or more sessions per week.

Ms Foreman said Queenslanders in particular needed to heed the message to stand up and move more.

"We know that people lead busy lives and a lot of that time is spent sitting down – in a car or at work," Ms Foreman said.

"But physical activity is a wonder drug that has so many benefits with no side effects. The decision to be active for at least 30 minutes a day and sit less is enough to reduce your heart disease risk."

The positive news out of the survey was that Brisbane inner-city and Brisbane west districts were ranked near the bottom of the list.

Top Ten Regions by Prevalence of Obesity and Physical Inactivity

1. Darling Downs-Maranoa (Qld)
2. South Australia - South East (SA)
3. Shepparton (Vic)
4. Ipswich (Qld)
5. Mackay (Qld)
6. South Australia - outback (SA)
7. Riverina (NSW)
8. Fitzroy (Qld)
9. Ballarat (Vic)
10. Toowoomba (Qld)

Bottom Ten (best performing regions)

83. Melbourne - Inner East (Vic)
84. Brisbane Inner City (Qld)
85. Brisbane West (Qld)
86. South Canberra (ACT)
87. North Sydney and Hornsby (NSW)
88. Perth (WA)
89. North Canberra (ACT)
90. Sydney City and Inner South (NSW)
91. Melbourne – Inner (Vic)
92. Sydney Eastern Suburbs (NSW)

Queensland Rankings 

1. Darling Downs - Maranoa Regional 44.2% obese; 74.5% insufficiently active
2. Ipswich Regional 38.9% obese; 68.9% insufficiently active
3. Mackay Regional 41.0% obese; 65.1% insufficiently active
4. Fitzroy Regional 39.0% obese; 64.2% insufficiently active
5. Toowoomba Regional 35.6% obese; 66.0% insufficiently active
6. Logan - Beaudesert Regional 35.0% obese; 66.2% insufficiently active
7. Townsville Regional 36.3% obese; 61.5% insufficiently active
8. Cairns Regional 30.5% obese; 75.6% insufficiently active
9. Wide Bay Regional 28.5% obese; 72.5% insufficiently active
10. Brisbane - East Metropolitan 31.9% obese; 60.9% insufficiently active
11. Moreton Bay - South Regional 34.1% obese; 56.8% insufficiently active
12. Brisbane - North Metropolitan 28.6% obese; 60.3% insufficiently active
13. Moreton Bay - North Regional 33.2% obese; 50.9% insufficiently active
14. Brisbane - South Metropolitan 25.7% obese; 59.7% insufficiently active
15.Gold Coast Regional 26.0% obese; 54.3% insufficiently active
16. Sunshine Coast Regional 21.1% obese; 53.0% insufficiently active
17. Brisbane Inner City Metropolitan 20.2% obese; 39.5% insufficiently active
18.Brisbane - West Metropolitan 14.1% obese; 45.6% insufficiently active