3 in 5 Aussies overweight
July 11, 2014
ROY Morgan Research’s latest
State of the Nation Spotlight on
Health has found that around three
in five Australian adults, or 11m,
are overweight.
This was equal to a combined
total of more than 180,000 tonnes
of extra weight, up from 150,000 in
2008, Roy Morgan Research said.
The research used the Alere
Wellness Index which has seven
subindices including smoking,
nutrition, medical and BMI health.
BMI and psych health had
declined since the report was
first launched in 2007, with those
reporting anxiety increasing by
about 6% to 15.6% in the 12
months to March, it said.
Anxiety had overtaken depression
as the second most common
mental health issue in Australia,
Roy Morgan said.
Most Australians said they felt
well or in good health, at 81%, but
the wellness of the nation was
“patchy”, with not everyone feeling
equally well, which correlated with
age, gender and socioeconomic
status, Roy Morgan Research ceo
Michele Levine said.
The report found that of all
illnesses, chronic fatigue syndrome
had the most common adverse
effect on overall wellbeing, with
62% of sufferers saying they didn’t
feel in good health.
The report found that the average
Australian suffers from 11 illnesses
or conditions in an average year,
relatively unchanged since 2008.
Just under half of Australians had
private health insurance, a number
which was growing, as was the
population, Levine said.
The report uses data from the
Single Source survey of more than
50,000 Australians annually.
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