Australia’s health 2012
June 22, 2012
THE good news is that in general
Australians are healthy, and the
majority feel positive about the
quality of their life, according to the
latest national report card on
health released by the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare.
“Australia compares well
internationally: we enjoy one of the
highest life expectancies in the
world—79.5 years for men and 84.0
years for women—our level of
smoking continues to fall, and most
children are fully immunised,” said
AIHW Director and CEO David
Kalisch.
But it’s not all good news for the
nation’s health, with the report
card finding that most Australians
also have at least one health risk
factor that is likely to contribute to
poorer future health.
As such, the report found that
among developed countries,
Australia has relatively high death
rates from heart disease, diabetes,
and chronic lung disease.
In addition, comparatively,
Australia was found to have one of
the highest rates of obesity, with
the latest figures demonstrating
that one in four Australian adults
and one in 12 children are obese.
Interestingly, the report found
that all Australians have at least
one risk factor for poor health, and
that worryingly around one seven
people have five or more risk
factors.
The most common combination
of risks was inadequate fruit and
vegetable consumption with
insufficient physical activity.
“Many Australians eat too few
vegetables, fruit and wholegrain
cereals, and eat too many foods
high in fat, sugar and salt,” Kalisch
said.
“And almost 60% of Australians
over 15 don’t do enough physical
activity to benefit their health,” he
added.
Meanwhile, the report also found
that whilst many older Australians
have good mental and physical
health, nearly half of those aged
65–74 have five or more long-term
physical health conditions.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 22 Jun 12To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 22 Jun 12
