National Healthcare Agreement: PI 03–Prevalence of overweight and obesity, 2022

Collection and usage attributes

Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated as weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of height (in metres).

For adults, underweight is defined as a BMI less than 18.5, normal is defined as a BMI of 18.5 to less than 25.0, overweight is defined as a BMI of 25.0 to less than 30.0 and obese is defined as a BMI of greater than or equal to 30.0.

For children, underweight is defined as a BMI (appropriate for age and sex) that is likely to be less than 18.5 at age 18, normal is defined as a BMI (appropriate for age and sex) that is likely to be 18.5 to less than 25.0 at age 18, overweight is defined as a BMI (appropriate for age and sex) that is likely to be 25.0 to less than 30.0 at age 18 and obese is defined as a BMI (appropriate for age and sex) that is likely to be greater than or equal to 30.0 at age 18, based on centile curves. See Appendix 4: Classification of BMI for children in National Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2017–18  for BMI values.

Rates are directly age-standardised to the 2001 Australian population.

Excludes pregnant women where identified. For people who did not have their height or weight measured, height and weight were imputed (see comments below for more details).

Analysis by remoteness and Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) is based on usual residence of person.

Presented as a percentage.

95% confidence intervals and relative standard errors are calculated for rates. Rate ratios are derived by dividing the age standardised rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the age standardised rate for non-Indigenous people.

Crude rate: 100 × (Numerator ÷ Denominator)

Calculated separately for adults and children.

Adults: Number of persons aged 18 and over who are overweight or obese.

Children: Number of persons aged 5–17 who are overweight or obese.

Adults: Population aged 18 and over

Children: Population aged 5–17

For each of adults and children, state and territory, by:

• sex by age (adults only) (not reported)
• Indigenous status
• remoteness (Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) 2016 Remoteness Structure)
• 2016 Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintiles (not reported)
• BMI category (underweight, normal, overweight, obese)
• disability status (not reported)

For adults, nationally, by (all not reported):

• sex by remoteness (ASGS 2016 Remoteness Structure)
• 2016 SEIFA IRSD deciles
• remoteness (ASGS 2016 Remoteness Structure) by 2016 SEIFA IRSD deciles.

Some disaggregation may result in numbers too small for publication.

Most recent data available for 2022 National Healthcare Agreement performance reporting: 2017–18 (total population, non-Indigenous: NHS); 2018–19 (Indigenous only: NATSIHS).

NO NEW DATA FOR 2022 REPORTING.

Data are based on measured height and weight, though respondents were also asked to self-report their height and weight. BMI derived from measured height and weight is preferable to that derived from self-reported height and weight.

Physical measurements are a voluntary component of the NHS and have a relatively high rate of non-response compared with other variables. Interviewers are advised of the importance of these data to inform policy on both childhood and adult obesity and are encouraged to do their best to gain respondent participation. Where physical measurements cannot be collected, the ABS has developed methods to impute these missing values.

In the 2017–18 NHS, 33.8% of respondents aged 18 years and over did not have their height or weight measured. For these people, height and weight were imputed using a range of information including their self-reported height and weight. For more information see Appendix 2 (Physical measurements) of the National Health Survey: First Results methodology.

In the 2018–19 NATSIHS, 55.8% of respondents aged 18 years and over did not have their height or weight measured. For these people, height and weight were imputed using a range of information including their self-reported height and weight. For more information see Explanatory notes in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey methodology.

Data for the Northern Territory should be interpreted with caution as the NHS excludes Very Remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These exclusions are unlikely to affect national estimates, and will only have a minor effect on aggregate estimates produced for individual states and territories, excepting the Northern Territory where around 20% of the population lived in Very Remote areas in the 2017–18 reporting period.

For the 2017–18 NHS and the 2018–19 NATSIHS, age standardised 95% confidence intervals and RSEs are not available. Please refer to associated crude 95 per cent confidence intervals and RSEs.

Further details about overweight and obesity among Indigenous Australians are available from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework (measure 2.22: Overweight and obesity).

Representational attributes

N[NN].N

Indicator conceptual framework

Data source attributes

Accountability attributes

National Healthcare Agreement

Australian Bureau of Statistics

PB d-Better health: by 2018, increase by five percentage points the proportion of Australian adults and children at a healthy body weight, over the 2009 baseline, 2022

Specification: Final, the measure meets the intention of the indicator.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (Reference period: 2017–18). National Health Survey: First Results methodology. ABS Website. Viewed 19 February 2021, https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/national-health-survey-first-results-methodology/2017-18

ABS (Reference period: 2018–19). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey methodology. ABS Website. Viewed 19 February 2021, https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/national-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-health-survey-methodology/2018-19

ABS (Reference period: 2019). National Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2017–18, ABS cat. no. 4363.0. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 7 May 2020, https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4363.0
Main+Features12017-18?OpenDocument

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2020. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 19 February 2021, https://indigenoushpf.gov.au/

Relational attributes