Obesity has this year overtaken smoking as Australia’s leading risk factor contributing to disease, according to a national study.
The Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024, released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, estimates the millions of years of healthy life Australians lose because of injury, illness or premature death.
The report measures over 200 diseases and injuries and provides estimates of how much of the burden of each can be attributed to 20 individual risk factors such as alcohol use, physical inactivity, poor diet, overweight or obesity and tobacco smoking.
“Overweight, including obesity, overtook tobacco use as the leading risk factor in 2024,” AIHW spokesperson Michelle Gourley said.
Gourley said the change was largely due to a substantial fall of 41 per cent in tobacco use since 2003.
