Being obese and overweight is now risking extra Australians’ well being than smoking in response to new information, as a brand new authorities dashboard has additionally highlighted the necessity for better funding in sort 2 diabetes and persistent situations.
The Australian Institute of Well being and Welfare (AIHW) has launched a brand new examine, up to date diabetes information, and monitoring outcomes for the Nationwide Preventive Well being Technique as we speak.
In line with the Australian Burden of Illness Research 2024, an estimated 8.3% of complete illness burden in 2024 was because of obese (together with weight problems) and seven.6% was because of tobacco use. This was adopted by dietary dangers (4.8%) and hypertension (4.4%).
The examine estimates the thousands and thousands of years of wholesome life Australians lose due to damage, sickness or untimely demise, measuring over 200 illnesses and accidents.
The info reinforces what AIHW’s Australia’s Well being 2024 report revealed earlier this yr: that multiple in two Australians dwell with a persistent situation (typically multiple), and practically one third of persistent situation sickness and demise will be prevented, decreased or delayed.
The Burden of Illness report supplies estimates of how a lot of this burden will be attributed to threat components reminiscent of alcohol use, bodily inactivity, poor food regimen, obese or weight problems, and tobacco smoking.
Australians misplaced an estimated 5.8 million years of wholesome life because of dwelling with illness and dying prematurely in 2024, the AIHW reviews.
Over one-third of the overall burden of illness and damage in Australia in 2024 may have been averted or decreased because of modifiable threat components.
The report reveals that whereas Australians reside longer on common, years lived in sick well being are additionally rising. This provides to the strain on the Australian well being system.
The AIHW have additionally launched a brand new monitoring dashboard for the Nationwide Preventive Well being Technique, in addition to their newest replace of diabetes information.
The dashboard highlights the pressing want for strong, proactive measures to stop sort 2 diabetes and persistent illness from overwhelming our healthcare system.
The interactive dashboard tracks progress in opposition to targets of two key methods designed to enhance the well being and wellbeing of Australians.
The Nationwide Preventive Well being Technique 2021-2030 (NPHS) guides a whole-of-government method to prevention that addresses the broader determinants of well being, reduces well being inequities and reduces general burden of illness, whereas the Nationwide Weight problems Technique 2022–2032 is a framework for motion to stop, scale back and deal with obese and weight problems, which round 14 million Australians dwell with.
The brand new information dashboard utilises a ‘visitors gentle’ report card, in opposition to every NPHS goal, to visualise regress (pink), no change (amber), progress (inexperienced) or unknown change between at the very least two information factors.
It identifies components together with that Australians are consuming much less fruit, and charges of weight problems haven’t declined.
Different AIHW report updates launched yesterday embody:
