Impacts

Obesity increases a person’s risk of various diseases including coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cancer. It is a direct cause of physical and psychological health consequences during childhood and adolescence, as well as being a strong predictor of adult obesity. Australians in the lowest socioeconomic group experience the greatest burden of disease attributable to overweight and obesity, compared to higher socioeconomic groups. Excess weight is responsible for about 14% of the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

4.72 million deaths linked to high body mass index (BMI) around the world in 2017 See evidence

8.4% of the total burden of disease in Australia is due to overweight and obesity See evidence

14% of health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians due to excess weight See evidence