In Australia, currently 63.4 per cent of adults and 24 per cent of children are considered overweight or obese. The World Obesity Federation projects 51 per cent of the global population will be overweight or obese by 2035. The economic impact of the increased rate of obesity is projected to be $6.38 trillion.
National Health Survey: First results
67% of adults were overweight or obese. 47% of Australians had one or more chronic conditions. Young people aged 18-24 are more likely to have never smoked than a decade ago (75% compared to 64%). 4.8 million Australians had a mental or behavioural condition.
Overweight and obesity
Tasmania had the highest rate of adults who were overweight or obese (70.9%), compared with Australian Capital Territory (64.0%) who had the lowest.
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 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. Aussie men are the second most obese in OECD countries - Aussie men have the second highest rates of obesity (32%) among 23 OECD countries, behind the USA (38%). Aussie women fared better than men but are still obese at a higher rate than the OECD average.
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.
Tasmania has been named the unhealthiest state in the country with the highest stress levels, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and smoking rates.
Congratulations Adelaide, we're officially the healthiest city in the nation! 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.
The average Australian woman was 161.8 cm tall and weighed 71.1 kg. On average, Australians are growing taller and heavier over time. Between 1995 and 2011-12, the average height for men increased by 0.8 cm and for women by 0.4 cm, while the average weight for men increased by 3.9 kg and for women by 4.1 kg.
For adults, the BMI ranges and classifications are: BMI under 18.5: underweight. BMI between 18.5 and 24.9: healthy weight range. BMI between 25.0 and 29.9: overweight.
The results were clear: the average Australian woman wears a size 16-18, making her officially 'plus-size'. According to the size charts, someone with a waist measurement of 88cm would fall between a size 16 and 18 at 45% of the brands while 20% would wear a size 18 and 30% a size 16.
Overweight and obesity by indigenous status
In 2018–19, more than three-quarters (76.8%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 years and over were either overweight (29.6%) or obese (47.2%), when standardised for age to reflect differences in the age structure of the population.
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.
Is obesity a disability as defined by the NDIA? Earlier AAT rulings have determined that obesity alone is not a disability because it does not 'entail a loss of, or damage to, a physical, sensory or mental function' (see Schwass and the NDIA).
“Queensland's known as the Sunshine State. All those rays and the laid-back lifestyle might be among the reasons why it's Australia's happiest state,” Bayliss said.
South Australia has been crowned Australia's most considerate state! South Australians have been found to be the most likely to consider other people's needs, according to the Helga's Kindness Index, a first-of-its-kind report examining the state of kindness in the country.
According to the FoodSwitch: State of the Fast Food Supply report, which assessed the healthiness of Australian fast food products in 2019, Red Rooster's Bacon and Cheese Rippa roll "combo" packs the most energy of quick-service chain meals with 7730 kilojoules per serving, or 89 per cent of the recommended average ...
In 2016, the Australian Taxation Office listed Mungallala as having the lowest mean taxable income by postcode, making it the poorest town in Australia, which led the ABC to do a documentary on the town for their online "storyhunters" program.
Nedlands, a rich Swan River suburb in Perth's west, had Australia's lowest obesity rate of 12.8 per cent, while in nearby Claremont it was 14 per cent.
Belgium, where people eat 95 grams of fat each day on average, holds the distinction of being the world's most fat-crazed country. Germany, where people eat 86.5 grams of fat each day on average, is second. Finland, where people eat just shy of 81 grams, is third.
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.
Australians are the richest people in the world, with a median wealth three times that of the average American, a new report has shown.