Report editions
This release
Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis
Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis
Web report
Last updated:
Topic: Overweight & obesity
Citation
AIHW
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2020) Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 24 April 2024.
APA
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-obesity-updated-birth-cohort-analysis
MLA
Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 13 August 2020, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-obesity-updated-birth-cohort-analysis
Vancouver
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020 [cited 2024 Apr. 24]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-obesity-updated-birth-cohort-analysis
Harvard
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2020, Overweight and obesity in Australia: an updated birth cohort analysis, viewed 24 April 2024, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-obesity-updated-birth-cohort-analysis
PDF | 729Kb
Overweight and obesity is a major public health issue and a leading risk factor for ill-health in Australia. This report shows that:
- when comparing between birth cohorts at the same age, those born more recently are more likely to be overweight or obese
- the prevalence of overweight and obesity has generally increased with age within most birth cohorts.
- Cat. no: PHE 268
Findings from this report:
-
The prevalence of obesity among people born in 1973–1982 increased from 6.5% at age 13–22 to 31% at age 35–44
-
For people born in 1963–1972, the median BMI increased from 24.4 kg/m2 at age 23–32 to 28.1 kg/m2 at age 45–54
-
For most age groups, those born most recently were more likely to be obese than those born 10 years earlier
-
For every age group, the median BMI of those born most recently was higher than that of those born 10 years earlier