Key findings. In 2017-18, two thirds (67.0%) of Australian adults were overweight or obese (12.5 million people), an increase from 63.4% in 2014-15.
Comparisons for measured body weight are based on data from 2021 or the latest available year (OECD 2022). Australia ranked 9th out of 21 countries with available data for the proportion of people aged 15 and over who were living with overweight or obesity (65%) – this was greater than the OECD average of 60%.
Media Release - 16 November 2020. Australia has the second highest rate of obese men among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), placing them just behind the United States, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' National Health Survey from 2017–18 revealed that 67 per cent of Australian adults were overweight or obese (12.5 million people), an increase from 63.4 per cent since 2014-15.
The rise in obesity has been attributed to poor eating habits in the country closely related to the availability of fast food since the 1970s, sedentary lifestyles and a decrease in the labour workforce.
Australia is ranked fifth for obesity, with wider waistlines than countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland, but slimmer than Hungary, New Zealand, Mexico and the United States, which has an obesity rate of 38.2 per cent.
Tasmania had the highest proportion of men overweight or obese (76.7%) while Australian Capital Territory had the lowest (70.5%).
Is it possible to be overweight and healthy? Silvana Pannain, MD: Yes, you can be overweight and metabolically healthy. At the same time, we know that obesity is a disease that affects the body in many different ways. Thirteen types of cancer and 200 other health conditions are related to obesity.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the most obese countries are primarily located in the Pacific and the Middle East. The Pacific island nations of Nauru, Cook Islands, and Palau have the highest rates of obesity, with over 30% of their populations being classified as obese.
Vietnam is the least obese country with 2.1% of the population classified as obese.
AUSTRALIA has overtaken the United States as the world's most obese nation, a new report says. The report, Australia's Future Fat Bomb, says 26 per cent of adult Australians - almost 4 million people - are now obese, 1 million more than the last calculation in 1999.
Food prices are substantially higher in Japan, but the traditional Japanese dietary habits, although changing, are also healthier. The Japanese are also far more physically active than Americans, but not because they do more planned physical exercise. They walk more as part of their daily lives.
Key findings. In 2017-18, two thirds (67.0%) of Australian adults were overweight or obese (12.5 million people), an increase from 63.4% in 2014-15. There was a large increase for those aged 18-24 years, with 38.9% overweight or obese in 2014-15 compared with 46.0% in 2017-18.
Recent data from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that over an estimated 8.1% of Chinese adults (85 million Chinese adults) had obesity in 2018, which was three times the level in 2004.
The arrival of fast food restaurants and other contemporary food items on the islands are one of the issues responsible for the obesity in Samoa. The earliest photographs of Samoans provide visual proof of the native population's natural physique before the introduction of processed foods by Western society.
Previously, it was thought that Pacific Islanders were genetically predisposed to obesity, but new research indicates that it may be the result of the introduction of Western diets to the islands.
Obesity in women can be attributed to childbirth, vulnerability to certain diseases, and household roles, experts say.
The phrase 'skinny fat' or metabolically obese normal weight (MONW) is used to describe someone who appears to be lean, but actually has a high body fat percentage. If they were to calculate their body mass index (BMI) or even weigh themselves, they may appear to be healthy, but this can be deceiving.
People who are overweight do not only have more fat mass but also more fat-free mass [7]. With that, people who are overweight or obese are likely to have more muscle mass and to be stronger compared to people who are not overweight.
Tamworth was given the unflattering title of fattest town in Australia back in 2020, when the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 61.2 per cent of residents were considered obese, compared to 31.3 per cent nationally.
Sydney, NSW
Sydney narrowly edged out Melbourne for the highest percentage (81%) of residents who engage in exercise at least once a week. The top reasons Sydneysiders exercise are to feel better mentally, look better physically, and reduce stress.
Adelaide, tying with Gold Coast, has been named the healthiest cities in Australia in a new study by Mandoe Media, with Melbourne, Perth and Sydney rounding out the top 5.