Lyla Lindsey
Australia has a high prevalence of obesity compared to other countries. In 2022, two-thirds of Australian adults were living with overweight or obesity, with a similar prevalence between men and women. Australia ranked 10th out of 21 countries with available data for the proportion of people aged 15 and over who were living with overweight or obesity, with a rate of 64%. This was greater than the OECD average of 59%. The prevalence of obesity in Australia is rising, with severe obesity more than doubling from 2.2% in 2007-08 to 4.6% in 2022-23. This trend is also observed in children, with a quarter of children aged 2-17 years being overweight or obese. Various factors contribute to the high rates of obesity in Australia, including poor eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, and geographical factors.
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What You'll Learn
Australia's obesity ranking
Australia's obesity rates have been described as an "epidemic" with "increasing frequency". According to 2007 statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Australia has the third-highest prevalence of overweight adults in the English-speaking world, behind the United States and New Zealand. However, when considering all countries, Australia ranked 21st in the world for obesity rates in 2007.
More recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in 2022-23 shows that two-thirds of Australian adults are living with overweight (34%) or obesity (31.7%). This is a slight increase from 2005, when 53.6% of Australians reported being overweight and 18% were obese, according to the National Health Survey. By 2016, these numbers had risen to 65% overweight and 29% obese.
When comparing the proportion of men and women living with obesity across OECD countries, Australia ranked fourth for the proportion of men (32%) and ninth for women (30%). Overall, Australia ranked 10th out of 21 countries with available data for the proportion of people aged 15 and over who were living with overweight or obesity (64%).
Obesity in Australia has been linked to various factors, including poor eating habits, the availability of fast food, sedentary lifestyles, and a decrease in the labour workforce. Additionally, there is a clear association between obesity and low socio-economic standing, with children from low socio-economic backgrounds being more likely to be obese than their high socio-economic counterparts.
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Obesity in Australian men
Australia has one of the highest rates of overweight and obese adults among OECD countries, with obesity in Australia being described as an "epidemic". In 2022-23, two-thirds of Australian adults were living with overweight or obesity, with a slightly higher prevalence of overweight in men compared to women. The prevalence of obesity is similar for men and women, with around seven in 10 Australian men living with overweight or obesity in 2022-23.
In 2022, 66% of Australian adults aged 18 and over were living with overweight or obesity, with men having higher rates than women (71% of men compared to 61% of women). The prevalence of overweight and obesity rose steadily by age group in 2022-23, peaking for men at 81.4% in the 65 to 74 years age group. In the 18-24 age group, 42.3% of men were living with overweight or obesity, and 15% with obesity.
The proportion of Australian males classified as overweight or obese increases with age. In 2013-14, around 20% of boys aged 10-14, 60% of men aged 25-34, and more than 70% of men aged 35-57 were overweight or obese. Among adult men (aged 18 and above), low physical activity, frequent medication use, poor diet, smoking, drinking, and lower overall life satisfaction were associated with a greater risk of being overweight or obese.
In 2018, Australia ranked ninth out of 23 OECD countries for overweight and obese adults, with the third-highest proportion of overweight and obese males (71%), behind the United States and Chile (74%). Obesity is linked to numerous health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and asthma.
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Obesity in Australian women
Australia has one of the highest rates of overweight and obese adults among OECD member countries, with the prevalence of both having increased over recent decades. In 2022, 65.8% of Australians aged 18 and over were living with overweight or obesity, with 34.0% overweight and 31.7% obese. The prevalence of obesity is rising among Australian adults, with severe obesity (BMI of 40 or more) more than doubling from 2.2% in 2007-08 to 4.6% in 2022-23.
When it comes to obesity in Australian women specifically, the data shows that the prevalence of obesity is similar for men and women, with a higher prevalence of overweight among men. In 2022-23, around 60.5% of women were living with overweight or obesity, compared to 71.2% of men. Similar proportions of men (32.5%) and women (30.9%) were living with obesity. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that Australia ranked 9th out of 22 countries for the proportion of women living with obesity (30%), which is higher than the OECD average of 26%.
Obesity rates in Australia vary depending on geographical location and socioeconomic status. In 2022-23, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher for Australian adults living outside major cities, with 69.3% in inner regional areas and 70.3% in outer regional and remote areas, compared to 64.0% in major cities. Additionally, children and adolescents aged 2-17 in the lowest socioeconomic areas were more likely to be living with overweight or obesity (34%) than those in the highest socioeconomic areas (23%).
Indigenous Australians have the country's highest level of obesity, with a 2001 study showing that 31% of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were obese, nearly double the national average at that time. A study by The Swiss School of Public Health in 2014 also found that children of low socioeconomic standing were more likely to be obese than their high socioeconomic standing counterparts. Furthermore, immigrants to Australia, particularly from low-income nations, have been found to have a greater tendency to undergo an increase in weight and adopt obesogenic lifestyle behaviours.
The rise in obesity in Australia has been attributed to various factors, including poor eating habits, the availability of fast food, sedentary lifestyles, and a decrease in the labour workforce. Obesity is a significant health concern, contributing to 8.4% of the total disease burden in Australia in 2018 and being linked to numerous diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and dementia.
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Obesity in Australian children
Australia has a high level of cultural and linguistic diversity, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Children from specific cultural and ethnic groups may be at greater risk of overweight and obesity and may bear the additional risk of socioeconomic disadvantage. A study conducted by The Swiss School of Public Health in 2014 found a clear association between the prevalence of obesity in low socio-economic standing school children within Australia. In 2006, it was found that children of low socio-economic standing were 2.22 times more likely to be obese compared to their high socio-economic standing counterparts. The percentage of overweight and obese children in Australia, despite rapid increases in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, has remained mostly steady for the past 10 years, with 23 to 24% of Australians under the age of 18 classified as overweight, and 5 to 6% of the same demographic classified as obese.
In 2021, Australia was found to have the fifth-highest prevalence of obesity out of high-income countries, behind the United States in first place and New Zealand in second. By 2050, it is predicted that Australia will have the second-highest rate of obesity prevalence in children in the high-income world, with one in three Australian children and adolescents (2.2 million) being obese. With an additional 1.6 million children predicted to be overweight, half of all Australian children and adolescents (3.8 million) will be overweight or obese.
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. Weight is measured by using the Body Mass Index scale (BMI). This is determined by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. If someone is overweight, their BMI will be at 25 or more. If someone is obese, their BMI will be at 30 or more. Overweight (including obesity) is the second-leading risk factor (after tobacco use) contributing to ill health and death, responsible for 8.4% of the total disease burden in Australia in 2018. Overweight (including obesity) is linked to 30 diseases, including 17 types of cancers, 4 cardiovascular diseases, 3 musculoskeletal conditions, type 2 diabetes, dementia, asthma, and chronic kidney disease.
In 2022-23, two-thirds of Australian adults were living with overweight (34.0%) or obesity (31.7%). The prevalence of overweight is higher for men compared to women, while the prevalence of obesity is similar for men and women. The prevalence of obesity is rising among Australian adults, with severe obesity (Class III, defined as BMI of 40 or more) more than doubling from 2.2% in 2007-08 to 4.6% in 2022-23.
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Obesity in immigrants to Australia
Australia has one of the highest rates of overweight and obese adults among the English-speaking countries. According to 2007 statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Australia has the third-highest prevalence of overweight adults in the English-speaking world. Obesity in Australia is an "epidemic" with "increasing frequency". The Medical Journal of Australia found that obesity in Australia more than doubled in the two decades before 2003. This rise in obesity has been attributed to poor eating habits, the availability of fast food, sedentary lifestyles, and a decrease in the labour workforce.
According to a 2016 study, immigrants comprise 28.1% of the population in Australia. The study aimed to examine ethnic differences in body mass index (BMI) and overweight/obesity in Australia and the influence of acculturation on body weight among Australian immigrants. The study found that relative to Australian-born individuals, men from the North Africa/Middle East and Oceania regions had significantly higher BMIs, and men from North-West Europe, North-East Asia, and Southern and Central Asia had significantly lower BMIs. Among women, the majority of foreign-born groups had significantly lower BMIs compared to Australian-born women. Male and female immigrants living in Australia for 15 years or more had significantly higher BMIs and increased odds of being overweight/obese respectively, compared to immigrants living in Australia for less than 5 years. Male immigrants arriving as adolescents were twice more likely to be overweight/obese and had significantly higher BMIs than immigrants who arrived as adults. Additionally, male and female immigrants who arrived as children (≤11 years) had significantly higher odds of adult overweight/obesity and BMIs.
A study by Delavari et al. (2012) suggested that many immigrant groups showed signs of obesogenic lifestyle behaviours after migrating from low-HDI to high-HDI countries. It was also found that Sudanese refugees in Australia have an increased risk of obesity compared to the general population. First-generation immigrants to Australia are more obese and have higher rates of obesity-related behaviours than white Australians or Australians of foreign ancestry whose families have been in the country for at least two generations. A study by the International Diabetes Institute at Monash University showed that Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Middle Eastern immigrants who moved to Australia were diagnosed with diabetes at a higher level than the average. The increase was explained by the adoption of a Western diet in place of a more healthy "traditional" diet more common in their native countries, as well as adopting a more sedentary lifestyle.
A study by the University of Melbourne found that children of immigrants from low- and middle-income countries had disproportionately higher overweight/obesity risks compared to their counterparts in the host populations. The study also found that overweight/obesity prevalence consistently increased with age for sons of mothers from low- and middle-income countries but not for daughters.
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Frequently asked questions
According to 2007 statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Australia had the third-highest prevalence of overweight adults in the English-speaking world. In 2022, Australia ranked 10th out of 21 countries with available data for the proportion of people aged 15 and over who were living with overweight or obesity (64%).
In 2007, the WHO found that 67.4% of Australian adults were overweight, ranking 21st in the world, and third out of the major countries in the English-speaking world, behind the United States (ranked 9th). In 2022, Australia ranked fourth for the proportion of men living with obesity, with 32%, while the US ranked first with 44%.
The obesity rate in Australia has been trending up in the last decade and surpassed 30% for the first time in 2017-18. In 2022-23, 31.7% of Australians aged 18 years and over were obese.
There is substantial geographic variation in the prevalence of overweight and obese adults in Australia. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher for Australian adults living outside major cities. In 2022-23, 69.3% in inner regional Australia and 70.3% in outer regional and remote Australia were living with overweight or obesity, compared to 64.0% in major cities.
