Physical measures

In the IHMHS, physical measures included:

• weight
• height
• waist circumference
• blood pressure.

Self-reported height and weight were also collected.

Body mass index (BMI) was derived from individual height and weight measures, with a process of imputation used for missing values. Imputed values are flagged in the microdata files should users wish to exclude them from their data analysis.

Physical measures were collected in the following collections:

• National Health Survey (NHS) 2022
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) 2022–23
• National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) 2023
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS) 2023
• National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) 2022–24
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS) 2022–24.

The most appropriate file to access for research on population physical measures for the general population is the pooled NHS 2022/NNPAS 2023 file, available in the NHMS 2022–24 publication.

For the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, refer either to the NATSIHS 2022–23 or to the NATSINPAS 2023 publications.

Data items and related output categories for this topic are available from the Data Item Lists of each publication.