Technical Paper 1: Obesity in Australia: a need for urgent
action The prevalence of overweight and obesity has been
increasing significantly over the last two decades. Data from
the 2004–2005 National Health Survey indicate that nearly half
of all Australian adults (based on self-reported height and
weight) were overweight or obese in 2004–2005: around 7.4
million adults were overweight or obese (over one-third of these
were obese) and close to three in every 10 Australian children
and young people were overweight or obese. The most recent
measured national prevalence estimates for adults are from a
survey conducted in 1999–2000 among Australians aged 25 years
and over:[2, 3] 1Height and weight data may be collected in
surveys as measured (by interviewers) or self-reported data.
Rates of overweight and obesity based on self-reported data are
likely to be underestimates of the true rates (as people tend to
overestimate their height and underestimate their weight,
leading to an underestimate of BMI) and should