1344.8.55.002 - ABStract, Statistics News, Australian Capital Territory, August 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/08/2010   
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AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SURVEY


BIGGEST EVER

The health of Australians will be getting its most comprehensive check-up ever, with the announcement of the Australian Health Survey to be conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The survey is being planned in close consultation with the Department of Health and Ageing and the National Heart Foundation of Australia.

It will include new and better measures of what Australians are eating and how physically active they are. It will also collect other health information, such as whether people have been diagnosed with arthritis or heart disease.

In another first, the survey will also measure chronic disease risk factors such as cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

The survey will also ask people to consider a visit to a pathology centre so that information on health risks factors can be derived from blood and urine samples. This will give a more accurate picture of the number of Australians with health issues such as high cholesterol, diabetes risk or poor nutritional status.

Around 50,000 people across Australia will be asked to take part in the survey, which is planned to start in April 2011.

Further information is available on The Australian Health Survey home page.