Health conditions and risks

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.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Overweight and obesity

67% of adults were overweight or obese, an increase from 63% in 2014-15.
A greater proportion of men were overweight or obese than women (75% compared with 60%).
25% of children were overweight or obese.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Smoking

Over the last 20 years, the rate of adult daily smokers has decreased from 24% to 14%. Over recent years however, the daily smoking rate remained relatively similar (15% in 2014-15).
Young people aged 18-24 are more likely to have never smoked than a decade ago (75% compared to 64%).
Current daily smokers on average smoke 12.3 cigarettes per day.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia

14.5 million tonnes of food and non-alcoholic beverages were sold in 2019-20, 4.0% more than in 2018-19
Total dietary energy available averaged 9,009 kJ per person per day, up 3.5% from 2018-19
The increase in weight and dietary energy was driven by greater sales from March 2020 to June 2020.

Reference period

2019-20 financial year

Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia

191.2 million litres of pure alcohol was available for consumption.
This equates to 9.51 litres of pure alcohol available per person.
12.43 litres per person was consumed by the 77% of persons who consumed alcohol last year.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

National Health Survey: Health literacy

This product presents data on health literacy by population characteristics including age and sex, by geography, health risk factors and status

Reference period

2018

Chronic conditions

47% of Australians had one or more chronic conditions.
Over the last decade the prevalence of chronic conditions increased (from 42%).
Females aged 15 years and over were more likely than males to have a chronic condition (57% compared to 51%).
The prevalence of chronic conditions increased with age.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Dietary behaviour

5% of adults met both the fruit and vegetable recommendations.
6% of children met both the fruit and vegetables recommendations.
9% of adults and 7% of children consume sugar sweetened drinks daily.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

High cholesterol

1.5 million Australians had high cholesterol.
Proportion of people with high cholesterol doubled from age 45-54 years (7%) to 55-64 years (14%).
21% of people aged 65 years and over had high cholesterol.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Children's risk factors

25% of children aged 5-17 years were overweight or obese.
6% of children met both the fruit and vegetables recommendations.
9% of adults and 7% of children consume sugar sweetened drinks daily.
45% of children aged 2-17 years usually consume either sugar sweetened drink or diet drinks at least once per week.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Arthritis and osteoporosis

3.6 million Australians had arthritis.
Arthritis rates increase with age, particularly for females.
924,000 Australians had osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis was more common amongst females than males (6% compared with 2%).

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Self-assessed health status

56% of Australians aged 15 years and over considered themselves to be in excellent or very good health. This has remained constant over the last 10 years.
15% of Australians aged 15 years and over reported being in fair or poor health.
Younger Australians generally rated themselves as having better health than older people.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Alcohol consumption

16% of adults exceeded guidelines by consuming more than two standard drinks per day on average.
42% of adults consumed more than four standard drinks on one occasion in the past year, exceeding guidelines.
Men were more likely to consume more than four standard drinks on one occasion than women (54% compared with 31%).

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Diabetes

1.2 million people had diabetes.
Diabetes continued to be more common among males than females (6% and 4% respectively).
The prevalence of diabetes has increased for both males and females since 2001 (both 3% increase).

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Physical activity

Only a minority of Australians met the physical activity guidelines.
55% of 18-64 year olds undertook 150 minutes or more of exercise in the last week.
44% of adults aged 18-64 years described their day at work as mostly sitting.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Hypertension and measured high blood pressure

2.6 million Australians reported having hypertension.
74% of all adults with measured high blood pressure did not report having hypertension.
The prevalence of hypertension was similar for males and females (11%).

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Mental health

20% or 4.8 million Australians had a mental or behavioural condition, an increase from 18% in 2014-15.
13% or 3.2 million Australians had an anxiety-related condition, an increase from 11% in 2014-15.
10% had depression or feelings of depression, an increase from 9% in 2014-15.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Cancer

432,400 Australians had cancer.
The most commonly reported type of cancer is skin cancer.
Males were more likely to have cancer than females (2.1% compared with 1.5%).

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Breastfeeding

93% of children aged 0-3 years had received breast milk.
29% of children aged 6 months to 3 years were exclusively breast fed to 6 months.
48% of children aged 6 months to 3 years were introduced to solids at 6 months or later.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Heart, stroke and vascular disease

1.2 million Australians had heart disease.
Heart disease more common among males than females (5% compared with 4%).
27% of all deaths in Australia attributed to diseases of the circulatory system.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

National Health Survey: State and territory findings

Western Australia was the only state with a decrease in daily smoking rates.
Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania saw increases in overweight or obese adults.
Physical activity rates varied with the highest proportion being Australian Capital Territory.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Asthma

2.7 million Australians had asthma.
Over the last 10 years, the prevalence of asthma has increased.
33% of people with asthma used medication to help manage the symptoms of asthma daily.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year

Kidney disease

237,800 Australians had kidney disease.
Males and females had similar rates of kidney disease (both 1%), with the prevalence increasing with age.
20,851 deaths had kidney disease as being a contributory factor.

Reference period

2017-18 financial year