Elsevier

Obesity Research & Clinical Practice

Volume 12, Issue 1, January–February 2018, Pages 29-39
Obesity Research & Clinical Practice

Original Article
Obesity in Australia

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2017.10.002Get rights and content

Summary

Objectives

To describe prevalence and trends for overweight and obesity in Australia and to critique the quality of available data on this public health priority.

Design

Comparison of aggregate prevalence data on adult and childhood overweight and obesity in publicly available national or state-based cross sectional surveys and survey series.

Participants

All representative population surveys, conducted since 1995, with measured height and weight at a national or state level.

Results

The most recent measured data found that 63.4% of Australian adults and 27.6% of children were overweight or obese in 2014/15. Tasmania had the highest observed adult prevalence of obesity (32.3%) and of overweight and obesity combined (67.5%). The Australian Capital Territory had the lowest observed prevalence of obesity (23.9%) and of overweight and obesity combined (63.0%).

Between 2007/08 and 2014/15, the age-standardised prevalence of adulthood overweight and obesity combined increased from 64.4% to 66.4%. Across states/territories the observed change varied from −5.3% (Western Australia) to 6.0% (Queensland). Amongst children the observed prevalence of overweight and obesity combined increased from 24.7% to 27.6%. Across states/territories the observed change varied from −1.4% (South Australia) to 11.1% (Tasmania).

Conclusions

In Australia, 1 in 10 more adults are obese today compared to 1995. Limitations in the available data mean it is difficult to conclude on trends over time in children, Indigenous Australians, or by state/territory. We need to ensure the continuation and expansion of our National Health Survey and/or explore novel monitoring options from other countries.

Introduction

Obesity in Australian adults, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or more, has increased rapidly since 1980, when nationally representative data first became available [1]. There has been international discussion of a potential plateau in trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity since the year 2000, particularly in children [2]. However, a lack of comparability amongst survey methodology and populations has made it difficult to conclude on the trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australia.

In Australia, the lack of regular, systematic population health monitoring, including all ages and localities, has impeded our understanding of the development of this major health challenge, beyond the aforementioned basic understanding of overall shifts in prevalence. There is a strong consensus that regular, comprehensive, comparable and accurate monitoring is critical in order to prioritise and allocate obesity prevention and management strategies and to confidently identify changes over time [3].

Here we synthesise the data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity reported from national and state and territory surveys for adults and children. We aim to describe Australia’s obesity landscape as far as possible from these data, including amongst adults, children and the Indigenous population, cross-sectionally and longitudinally. We also aim to identify opportunities for future reporting, and to highlight limitations in the available data.

Section snippets

Inclusion criteria

This study primarily synthesised the publicly reported aggregate data from nationally representative and state-specific Australian surveys with measured height and weight, conducted since 1995. Due to this goal to identify nationally representative and state-specific Australian surveys, we visited all of the key national and state government health and statistics websites to identify potentially relevant surveys. Public websites published before December 2016 were included. Surveys were

Most recent prevalence data

The most recent measured data on overweight and obesity prevalence in Australian adults comes from the 2014/15 National Health Survey (Fig. 1). In 2015, 63.4% of Australian adults were living with overweight or obesity, and just under half of these were living with obesity. Men had a greater prevalence of overweight and obesity than women.

Reporting of the 2014/15 Australian Health Survey data by state/territory indicated small apparent differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity

Discussion and recommendations

Current, publicly available Australian data indicates that more than one quarter of adults are obese in Australia and the prevalence of overweight and obesity combined is higher among men than women. Amongst children, more than one quarter are overweight or obese, with similar prevalence in girls and boys. The prevalence of overweight and obesity appears to differ by sex, age and state/territory.

The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity appears to have increased amongst both adults and

Conflicts of interest

None.

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