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Health conditions and risks
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
Australian Health Survey: Nutrition - State and Territory results
State and territory breakdown of average intakes of foods, nutrients and proportion of nutrients from food groups
Reference period
2011-12 financial year
Australian Health Survey: Nutrition - Supplements
Provides information on Australians consumption of dietary supplements from the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey
Reference period
2011-12 financial year
Australian Health Survey: Usual Nutrient Intakes
Provides a distributional analysis of usual nutrient consumption enabling population assessment of intakes against the Nutrient Reference Values
Reference period
2011-12 financial year
Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First Results - Foods and Nutrients
Provides a snapshot of food and nutrient consumption. Analysis and datacubes include average consumption and proportion derived from each food group
Reference period
2011-12 financial year
Australian Health Survey: Biomedical Results for Nutrients
Presents information on selected biomarkers for nutrition, including iodine, folate, Vitamin B12 and iron
Reference period
2011-12
Australian Health Survey: Biomedical Results for Chronic Diseases
Information on biomarkers of chronic disease, including prevalence rates for risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and kidney function
Reference period
2011-12 financial year
Australian Health Survey: Physical Activity
Physical activity results from the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey, presented with selected population characteristics and health risk factors
Reference period
2011-12 financial year
Articles
Released
04 December 2020
Integration of the 2017-18 National Health Survey and the Personal Linkage Spine
View article
Released
26 June 2020
Australians not buying enough fruit or vegetables
View story
Released
09 September 2019
Rise in spirits, but total alcohol consumption steady
View story
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