Overweight and obesity

How common is overweight and obesity?

Overweight or obesity refers to excess body weight. It is a risk factor for many chronic conditions and is associated with higher rates of death (AIHW 2019). At a population level, overweight or obesity is generally measured using Body Mass Index (BMI) or waist circumference.

For more information on how to measure overweight or obesity, please see Measuring overweight or obesity and Causes of overweight or obesity.

Children and adolescents

In 2022, based on measured height and weight data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2022 National Health Survey, of children and adolescents aged 2–17: 

• one in 4 (26%) were living with overweight or obesity. This is approximately 1.3 million children and adolescents.
• 18% were living with overweight but not obesity.
• 8.1% were living with obesity (ABS 2023d).

The proportion living with overweight or obesity was similar for boys and girls across most age groups, except for the youngest age group, where more girls aged 2–4 (24%) were living with overweight or obesity than boys (14%) (ABS 2023d) (Figure 1).

Adults

In 2022, based on measured data from the ABS 2022 NHS, of adults aged 18 and over:

• 66% were living with overweight or obesity, approximately 13 million adults
• 34% were living with overweight but not obesity
• 32% were living with obesity
• 13% were living with severe obesity, which is defined in this report as having a BMI of 35 or more (ABS 2023c; AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

For the measures of overweight or obesity, and overweight but not obese, men had higher rates than women, in 2022:

• 71% of men and 61% of women were living with overweight or obesity.
• 39% of men and 30% of women were living with overweight but not obesity (ABS 2023c).

Similar proportions of men (33%) and women (31%) were living with obesity (ABS 2023c).

Overweight or obesity is distributed differently among men and women, as shown in the BMI calculator.

In 2022, the proportion of adults living with overweight or obesity generally increased with age. This is seen in both men and women:

• for men, the proportion increased steadily from 42% of those aged 18–24 to a peak of 81% in those aged 65–74.
• for women, the proportion increased from 41% of those aged 18–24 to a peak of over 70% in those aged 55–64 and 65–74 (ABS 2023c) (Figure 1).

Obesity is also more common in older age groups. In 2022, 15% of men and 16% of women aged 18–24 years were living with obesity, compared with 41% of men and 37% of women aged 65–74 (ABS 2023c) (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Proportion of children and adolescents aged 2–17 and adults aged 18 and over, living with overweight and obesity, by age group and sex, 2022

Waist circumference

In 2022, based on measured waist circumference from the ABS 2022 NHS, 63% of men and 72% of women aged 18 and over had a waist circumference that indicated an increased or substantially increased risk of metabolic complications. This is an increase from 2017–18 (60% of men and 66% of women). The proportion of adults with a waist circumference that indicates a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications was significantly higher in women than men across almost all age groups (ABS 2023c) (Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Proportion of adults aged 18 and over with a waist circumference indicating increased risk of metabolic complications, by age group and sex, 2022

How does overweight and obesity change over time?

Children and adolescents

The proportion of children and adolescents aged 5–17 living with overweight or obesity increased between 1995 and 2007–08 (from 20% to 25%), then remained relatively stable from 2007–08 to 2017–18, before increasing to 28% in 2022 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2013a; ABS 2009b, 2013b, 2015b, 2018, 2023d) (Figure 3). This increase between 2017–18 to 2022 was driven by the increase in the proportion living with overweight (but not obesity), which increased from 17% in 2017–18 to 20% in 2022 (ABS 2018, 2023d) (Figure 3).

For children aged 2–17, the proportion living with overweight or obesity have not changed significantly between 2017–18 (25%) and 2022 (26%) (ABS 2018, 2023d).

Adults

After adjusting for different population age structures over time, the proportion of adults aged 18 and over living with overweight or obesity has decreased slightly to 65% in 2022, from 66% in 2017–18. However, the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who are living with overweight or obesity has increased steadily from 57% in 1995 (Figure 3) (ABS 2019c, 2023b; AIHW analysis of ABS 2009a, 2013a, 2014a, 2016).

The increase in the proportion living with overweight or obesity was largely driven by the increase in those living with obesity, which increased to 31% in 2022, from 19% in 1995 (Figure 3) (ABS 2019c, 2023b; AIHW analysis of ABS 2009a, 2013a, 2014a, 2016).

Figure 3: Proportion of overweight or obesity in children and adolescents aged 5–17, and adults aged 18 and over, 1995 to 2022.

The distribution of BMI in adults shifted towards higher BMIs from 2011–12 to 2022, due to an increase in obesity in the population over time (ABS 2013b, AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a) (Figure 4).

Changes in prevalence of overweight or obesity in birth cohorts over time is currently being explored using the latest data. This will be available in a forthcoming report.

To learn more on birth cohort analyses from current published reports, see:

• Overweight and obesity in Australia: a birth cohort analysis
• Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis

Figure 4: Distribution of BMI among persons aged 18 and over, 2011–12 and 2022

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people

Children and adolescents

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children and adolescents aged 2–17, 38% were living with overweight or obesity, according to the latest data from the 2018–19 ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (ABS 2019e). This is an increase from the 31% estimated from the previous Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey in 2012–13 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2015a). It was also higher than the 24% of non-Indigenous children and adolescents estimated from the National Health Survey in 2017–18 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019b).

In 2018–19, the proportion of First Nations boys living with overweight or obesity increased with increasing age from 21% of those aged 2–4 years to 33% of those aged 5–9 and 45% of those aged 10–14. For girls, there were no significant differences in the proportion living with overweight or obesity across age groups (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019a) (Figure 5).

For more information see Overweight and obesity among Australian children and adolescents and the Overweight and obesity measure from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework.

Adults

Based on the latest available data from 2018–19, of First Nations people aged 18 and over: 

• 74% were living with overweight or obesity, increasing from 69% in 2012–13.
• 45% were living with obesity, increasing from 40% in 2012–13 (ABS 2014b, 2019d).

After adjusting for differences in the age structure of First Nations and non-Indigenous populations, in 2018–19, First Nations adults were 1.2 times as likely to be living with overweight or obesity as non-Indigenous adults (77% compared with 66%), and 1.5 times as likely to be living with obesity (47% compared with 31%) (ABS 2019d).

When comparing between First Nations men and women, there were no statistically significant differences between the proportion living with overweight or obesity, and the proportion living with overweight alone. However, slightly more First Nations women were living with obesity (48%) than First Nations men (43%) (ABS 2019d).

In 2018–19, the proportion of overweight or obesity generally increased with increasing age. This was seen in both First Nations men and women (Figure 5):

• for First Nations men, the proportion increased from 56% at 18–24, to 72% at 25–34 and 81% at 35–44. It peaked at 84% for those aged 55 years and over.
• for First Nations women, the proportion increased from 60% at 18–24, to 73% at 25–34. It peaked at 83% for those aged 45–54 years (ABS 2019d).

For obesity alone, the proportion also increased with increasing age. The proportion of First Nations adults living with obesity was lowest for those aged 18–24 at 32% and highest for those aged 45 and over (51%) (ABS 2019d) (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Proportion of First Nations children and adolescents aged 2–17 and adults aged 18 and over living with overweight or obesity, by age group and sex, 2018–19

How does overweight and obesity vary by population groups?

Obesity is unfairly distributed, with some Australians at higher risk. Economic and social barriers and the remoteness areas that people live in can limit the availability of and access to healthy living (Commonwealth of Australia 2022).

Remoteness areas

In 2022, based on measured data from the ABS 2022 NHS and after adjusting for age, a greater proportion of Australians aged 18 and over in Inner regional (68%) and Outer regional and Remote (70%) areas were living with overweight or obesity compared with those in Major cities (64%). This variation was not seen in children and adolescents aged 2–17 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a) (Figure 6).

Socioeconomic areas

In 2022, based on measured data from the ABS 2022 NHS and the proportion of Australians living with overweight or obesity varied by socioeconomic area. 

Children and adolescents aged 2–17 in the lowest socioeconomic areas were more likely to be living with overweight or obesity (34%) than those in the highest socioeconomic areas (21%) (Figure 6). The proportion of those living with obesity in this age group was also higher for those in the lowest socioeconomic areas (15%) compared with the highest socioeconomic areas (4.9%) (Figure 6) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

After adjusting for age in adults aged 18 and over, a greater proportion in the lowest socioeconomic area (68%) were living with overweight or obesity, compared with those in the highest socioeconomic areas (60%). The prevalence of obesity was the underlying reason for this difference by socioeconomic areas, with a greater proportion of both men (36%) and women (38%) in the lowest socioeconomic areas living with obesity, compared with those in the highest socioeconomic areas (25% and 23%, respectively) (Figure 6) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a). 

Figure 6: Proportion of children and adolescents aged 2–17 and adults aged 18 and over living with overweight and obesity, by population groups, 2022

Primary Health Networks (PHN)

In 2022, after adjusting for age, the Western New South Wales PHN area had the highest prevalence of overweight or obesity, with 4 in 5 adults (79%) living with overweight or obesity. The Northern Sydney area had the lowest prevalence, with just under half of adults living with overweight or obesity (46%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a) (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Age-standardised proportion of adults living with overweight and obesity, by remoteness area, 2017–18

How does Australia compare internationally?

International comparisons of the prevalence of overweight or obesity can be made for member countries of the Organisation for European Co-operation and Development (OECD 2023). Comparisons for measured body weight are based on data from 2022 or the latest available year (OECD 2023).

Australia ranked 10th out of 21 countries with available data for the proportion of people aged 15 and over who were living with overweight or obesity (64%) – this was greater than the OECD average of 59%.

When comparing the proportion of men and women living with obesity across OECD countries, Australia ranked equal fourth for the proportion of men living with obesity (32%) with Mexico, behind New Zealand (33%), Hungary (36%) and the United States (44%). The proportion of obesity in women in Australia was ninth highest out of 22 countries (30%) – higher than the OECD average of 26% for women (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Proportion of overweight or obesity in persons aged 15 years and over, OECD countries, 2022 or nearest year

Notes:

1. Self-reported overweight and obesity data have been omitted due to concerns about reliability of estimates.

2. Results are for 2022 or the nearest available year of data, for countries with available data. All data are sourced from the OECD Health Statistics 2023 website.

3. The ‘OECD average’ for each indicator has been calculated by the AIHW from the latest year of data available for each of the 37 OECD member countries with available data for that indicator. It was not possible to calculate confidence intervals to indicate variability around estimates from the published data available.

4. Variation between indicator results for each country may occur due to differences in data collection, the data quality and the years of data available. For more information on indicator methodology and country-specific data sources used, please see OECD Health Statistics 2023 Sources and methods.

Australia is among a number of OECD member countries in which the prevalence of overweight or obesity has increased over recent decades driven by the increased proportion of people living with obesity (OECD 2023) (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Proportion of overweight or obesity in persons aged 15 years and over, OECD countries, 2010 to 2022

Notes:

1. Unconnected markers represent countries for which data were available for only 1 of the years presented
2. Data are sourced from the OECD Health Statistics 2023 website. Results are presented for years of available data for each country, between 2010 and 2022.
3. Results are based on overweight and obesity classifications based on measured height and weight only (self-reported data have been excluded due to concerns about reliability).
4. Variation in results between countries may occur due to differences in data collection and data quality. For more information on indicator methodology and country-specific data sources used, please see OECD Health Statistics 2023 Sources and methods.

For more information, see Measures of health and health care for Australia and similar countries.

What are the health impacts of overweight and obesity?

Burden of disease is a measure of the years of healthy life lost from living with ill health or dying prematurely from disease and injury. A portion of this burden is due to modifiable risk factors. Burden of disease analysis estimates the contribution of these risk factors to this burden.

Overweight (including obesity) is the second leading risk factor (after tobacco use) contributing to ill health and death, responsible for 8.4% of the total disease burden in Australia, in 2018 (AIHW 2021). Overweight (including obesity) is linked to 30 diseases, including 17 types of cancers, 4 cardiovascular diseases, 3 musculoskeletal conditions, type 2 diabetes, dementia, asthma and chronic kidney disease.

In 2018, overweight (including obesity) was responsible for:

• 55% of type 2 diabetes disease burden
• 51% of hypertensive heart disease burden
• 49% of uterine cancer burden
• 43% of gout burden
• 42% of chronic kidney disease burden (AIHW 2021).

Overweight (including obesity) contributed to around 16,400 deaths (10% of all deaths) (AIHW 2021).

The total disease burden attributable to overweight (including obesity) in 2018 was 2.2 times greater in the lowest socioeconomic area compared with the highest socioeconomic area (AIHW 2021).

For more information on the burden of disease associated with overweight or obesity, see Australian Burden of Disease Study 2018: Interactive data on risk factor burden.

Strategies for monitoring overweight and obesity

The National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 is a framework for action to prevent, reduce and treat overweight or obesity in Australia. It recognises that the root causes of overweight and obesity are complex and embedded in the way we live (Commonwealth of Australia 2022), and to address the issue, requires changes to systems, environments and commercial determinants that affect Australians’ opportunities to live healthy lives. 

Australia’s National Preventive Health Strategy (NPHS) 2021–2030 aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians at all stages of life, through a whole-of-government approach to prevention that addresses the wider determinants of health, reduces health inequities and decreases the overall burden of disease. The NPHS strongly emphasises that preventive action must focus on the wider determinants of health to address the increasing complexity of health issues and the interconnected causes of poor health and wellbeing (Department of Health and Aged Care 2021).

The NPHS 2021–2030 and the National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 share the following 2 overweight and obesity targets:

• Halt the rise and reverse the trend in the prevalence of obesity in adults by 2030 – the proportion of adults aged 18 and over living with obesity has remained stable at 31% from 2017–18 to 2022 (ABS 2019c, 2023c; Commonwealth of Australia 2022; Department of Health and Aged Care 2021).
• Reduce overweight or obesity in children and adolescents aged 2–17 years by at least 5% by 2030 – the proportion of children and adolescents aged 2–17 living with overweight or obesity have not changed significantly between 2017–18 (25%) and 2022 (26%) (ABS 2018, 2023d; Commonwealth of Australia 2022; Department of Health and Aged Care 2021).

Current progress against the baseline from 2017–18 has shown a stable trend in overweight or obesity. However, further monitoring is required for determining whether Australia will meet these targets.

For more information, see Health promotion and health protection.

Where do I go for more information?

For more information on overweight and obesity, see:

• Reducing the burden due to overweight (including obesity) and physical inactivity
• The relationship between health risk factors and the neighbourhood environment
• Overweight and obesity in Australia: a birth cohort analysis
• Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis
• Overweight and obesity among Australian children and adolescents

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