Overweight and obesity

Managing and treating overweight and obesity requires a holistic plan that suits a person’s individual needs and goals. Interventions may include nutrition, movement, sleep and psychological support, pharmacotherapy or bariatric surgery. Treatment plans should be developed in collaboration between the person living with overweight or obesity and their care team, which may include a range of specialised professionals, with a focus on long-term health improvements rather than solely on weight loss.

Having access to early intervention and supportive health care is crucial for the management and treatment of many health conditions and risk factors, such as overweight and obesity. Importantly, health care professionals need to have the appropriate knowledge and tools to provide care that is respectful, culturally safe, and free of judgment and blame. For more information, see Weight stigma.

In Australia, there are barriers to accessing equitable and effective management and treatment options for people living with overweight and obesity. Research showed that there was a mean delay of almost 9 years from when a person first begins to have concerns with their weight and the initial discussion with a health care professional about the issue (Rigas et al. 2023). The stigma and bias experienced by those living with obesity is one of the barriers to seeking health care advice (Rigas et al. 2020). Patients often had the perception that managing their weight was solely their own responsibility and was one of the main reasons they did not discuss the topic with their health professional (Rigas et al. 2020). Additionally, the hesitancy of health care professionals to raise the topic with their patients has been attributed to inadequate training on communication and understanding of the underlying causes of obesity (Rigas et al. 2023). 

Behavioural interventions

There are limited national data on the management of overweight and obesity through behavioural interventions, such as movement, sleep and psychological support. This is likely because people often use weight management strategies, such as weight loss, without consulting a health care professional first (McCay 2023).

The Australia Talks National Survey, conducted in 2021, showed that 60% of Australians were actively trying to lose weight (Sakzewski 2021). Relatedly, 1 in 4 (25%) Australians aged 15 and over reported following a diet or eating pattern in 2023. Among these people, 31% were on an ‘energy restriction’ diet type, with 14% were reducing their calorie and portion size (ABS 2025a).

A study of Australian general practitioner patients showed that, of people trying to lose weight, 72% reported changing their diet, 54% increased their physical activity levels and 7.5% used a professional weight-loss program (Yoong et al. 2013).

Weight-loss medication for overweight and obesity

The use of weight-loss medication for the treatment of overweight and obesity can be considered in combination with lifestyle interventions and where there are weight-related health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension or osteoarthritis (Forner and Hocking 2025). Most of the medications mainly work by either reducing hunger or increasing satiation, or both, and all have beneficial effects on different risk factors; most notably improving some cardiovascular disease and metabolic factors (for example, type 2 diabetes) (Khera et al. 2018; Marshall 2025).

The high cost of these weight-loss medications, however, is a barrier for many people trying to access the medicines. At the time of writing, there are a range of medications approved for obesity treatment and weight management by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, none of which are currently subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (Forner and Hocking 2025; Marshall 2025). Barriers to accessing these medicines would affect those who are the most disadvantaged, given the socio-economic disparity in the prevalence of obesity in Australia (Roberts 2025).

There is currently a lack of national data sources to capture and monitor the use of weight-loss medications in Australia. Additionally, there is limited data on the efficacy and long-term effectiveness of these drugs for weight management (Marshall 2025; WHO 2025). Evidence shows medications are only effective whilst being used and discontinuation of treatment is associated with weight regain and recurrence of weight related comorbidities (Forner and Hocking 2025; Marshall 2025).

The weight-loss medications space is changing quickly and requires long-term information and monitoring (Roberts 2025). It is important to acknowledge that weight-loss medication alone is not the solution to the burden of obesity in the population. The focus should be on changing and creating environments that promote health, such as through nutrition and physical activity (WHO 2025).

Bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery, or weight-loss surgery, is a group of surgical procedures performed on portions of the stomach or digestive tract, which can help people living with obesity to lose weight. These procedures also help reduce the risk of developing, and the management of, most weight-related health conditions including type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

There were 33,000 obesity-related procedures (for example, bariatric surgeries), in Australia in 2023–24 (AIHW 2025e). For hospitalisations with a principal diagnosis of obesity, 94% (around 26,000 separations) had a procedure related to obesity. These obesity-related procedures include primary procedures – that is, a patient’s first bariatric procedure – as well as revision procedures; that is, revisions or subsequent procedures due to a previous surgery.

The Bariatric Surgery Registry (the Registry) also collects information and annual outcomes data for patients undergoing bariatric surgery across public and private hospitals in Australia and New Zealand.

Of the 16,000 bariatric surgeries in the Registry for Australia, 13,000 were primary procedures, in 2024. Of these primary procedures (Bariatric Surgery Registry 2025):

• 79% were for female patients
• 11% of participants reported they had diabetes (type of diabetes is not captured).

The annual outcomes data for patients who have undergone surgery ranges from one to ten years after procedure. In Australia, the one-year BMI outcomes of participants who had an initial BMI within the (Bariatric Surgery Registry 2025):

• overweight range showed 56% had now moved to the healthy range
• obesity class I range (BMI of 30.0 to 34.9 kg/m²) showed 51% were now in the healthy range
• obesity class II range (BMI of 35.0 to 39.9 kg/m²) showed 27% were now in the healthy range
• obesity class III range (BMI of 40.0 kg/m² or above) showed 5.5% were now in the healthy range.

Diabetes outcomes showed that, of those who were managing their diabetes with diet and exercise at the time of surgery, 79% reported that they no longer had diabetes one-year post-surgery. Of those on insulin at the time of surgery, about half (49%) no longer needed any diabetes medications at one-year follow-up (Bariatric Surgery Registry 2025).

For more information, see Bariatric Surgery Registry.