For after hours urgent public health matters including environmental health, radiation safety, food poisoning and communicable disease management phone:
In 2021, 62.2.% of adult Canberrans reported being either overweight (35.5%) or obese (26.7%) in the ACT General Health Survey (Figure 1).[1]
ACT males (40.5%) were significantly more likely to report being overweight than females (30.6%) in 2021.
Figure 1 demonstrates that while the proportion of ACT adults who reported being overweight, but not obese, over the last decade (2011-2021) has remained persistently high (between 30 and 40%), no clear trend is apparent. However, the proportion of adults categorised as obese has significantly increased over the same period, from 20.2% in 2011 to 26.7% in 2021.
The ACT had the lowest proportion of adults who were either overweight or obese compared to other Australian states and territories in the 2017-18 National Health Survey, where 67.0% of Australian adults were overweight or obese, compared with 64.0% of adults in the ACT.[2]
Nationally, a greater proportion of males were overweight or obese than women (74.5% and 59.7% respectively). This difference is also seen in the ACT.
Adults at increased risk of chronic disease (waist circumference)
In 2018, 54.1% of men and 65.3% of women in the ACT had a measured waist circumference in the ABS NHS that puts them at an increased risk of chronic disease.[3]
This is similar to the 3 in 5 Australian men (59.6%) and 2 in 3 Australian women (66.0%) who had a measured waist circumference that put them at an increased risk of disease.[4]
The proportion of Australia’s population reported to be at increased risk of disease due to their waist circumference has remained stable since 2011-12.[4]
Overweight and obesity is a leading cause of chronic disease
In 2018, overweight and obesity was the second leading cause of the total disease burden in Australia.[5]
Burden of disease studies look at the combined impact of dying early and living with disease or injury. Burden of disease is explored further in a separate report.
Overweight and obesity contributed to 8.4% of the total disease burden in Australia. Tobacco use was the leading contributor to total burden of disease at 8.6%.[5]
While tobacco was the leading cause of premature deaths in Australia, overweight and obesity was the leading cause of burden due to living with disease or injury.[5]
The total burden of disease due to overweight and obesity in Australia increased by 3% between 2015 and 2018 (from 14.1 to 14.5 disability-adjusted life years per 1,000 population, respectively).
Maternal overweight and obesity
Maternal overweight and obesity can increase the risk of a range of complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes for both mother and child.[6]
In 2020, 50.1% of ACT mothers were classified as being overweight (26.5%) or obese (23.7%) in their first trimester of pregnancy (Figure 2).
The proportion of ACT mothers who are overweight or obese in the first trimester of pregnancy increased significantly from 45.3% in 2012 to 50.1% in 2020 (Figure 2).
Analysis of maternal and perinatal data in the ACT estimates that maternal overweight and obesity contribute to a large proportion of adverse pregnancy outcomes:
36.2% for pre-eclampsia
29.3% for gestational diabetes mellitus
25.2% for large for gestational age babies
21.6% for longer antenatal stay in hospital (≥2 days)
16.3% for extreme preterm birth
15.5% for caesarean delivery
6.5% admission of the newborn to a special care nursery or neonatal intensive care unit.[7]
ACT youth and childhood overweight and obesity
In 2021, nearly 1 in 3 (29.4%) of children aged 5-17 years were reported as being either overweight (19.2%) or obese (10.2%) in the ACT General Health Survey.[1]
There was no significant difference in reported prevalence between male and female children.
The proportion of ACT children and adolescents (5-17 year age-group) who were overweight has varied between 12% and 20% from 2011 to 2021, with no clear trend over time. It is possible that an increase in the proportion who were obese from 6.1% in 2013-14 to 10.2% in 2021 is the start of a concerning trend which will need to be monitored closely.
The 2017-18 National Health Survey reported children (aged 2 to 17 years) in the ACT and Tasmania to have the highest proportions of overweight or obesity at 28.6% and 28.7% respectively. Victoria had the lowest proportion at 22.6%.[8]
This survey also found the proportion of children who were overweight or obese has remained stable from 2014-15 to 2017-18 across all Australian states and territories, with the exception of Victoria where this rate has declined since 2014-15 from 28.6% to 22.6%.[8]
Overweight and obesity in kindergarten
Nearly 1 in 5 (18.2%) kindergarten children and more than 1 in 3 (38.5.%) Year 6 students in the ACT are overweight or obese (Figure 4; Figure 5).[9]
A preliminary analysis of the Kindergarten Health Check data from 2014-2017 suggests that only a small proportion of parents whose children were measured as overweight or obese identified having a concern about their child’s weight.[10]
This finding, where children’s overweight status is under-estimated by parents, is consistent with international experience.[11]
Further analysis of the full range of Kindergarten Health Check data, including 2021 data, will be important to validate and confirm these findings.
Overweight and obesity in Year 6 students
Among ACT Year 6 students, an encouraging downward trend in overweight and obesity was reported between 2006 and 2018.