BMI Trends in Australia


Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source Australia October 2000 – June 2010, 12 month moving averages Australians aged 18+, n= 22,213.


In the same period, the incidence of Australians with healthy BMIs (below 25) has declined from 39% to 35% (an estimated 5.9 million people).


BMI Classification by Gender


Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source Australia, Jul 2009 – Jun 2010, n= 18,454.


In the year ending June 2010, 28% of women (estimated at 2.4 million women) recorded BMIs that indicate obesity while 5% fewer men were obese.  However 40% of men (an estimated 3.3 million) were classified as overweight and only one in three were in the acceptable weight range.


Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Rising rates of obesity are contributing to the incidence of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Some experts advocate a role for appetite suppressing medicines such as Sibutramine (Tradename Reductil) which has just been withdrawn from the Australian market. While this obviously restricts the options for clinicians and some obese patients, it may represent an opportunity for the marketers of alternative prescription and over- the-counter therapies."

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