Jan 04, 2025 15:00:00

It turns out that 'being overweight' will overtake smoking as the top health risk by 2024

It is well known that tobacco is bad for the body, but while the number of smokers

is decreasing in many countries around the world, including Japan, obesity is on the rise . The Australian government has announced that by 2024, overweight, including obesity, will surpass smoking as the leading risk factor for health damage, mainly due to the decrease in the number of smokers.

Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024, Summary - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/australian-burden-of-disease-study-2024/contents/summary

Being overweight overtakes tobacco smoking as the leading disease risk factor in 2024 - Scimex
https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/being-overweight-overtakes-tobacco-smoking-as-the-leading-disease-risk-factor-in-2024

Australia 'can't afford to be complacent' as major health issue leapfrogs alcohol and tobacco | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/australia-cant-afford-to-be-complacent-as-major-health-issue-leapfrogs-alcohol-and-tobacco/news-story/f7c97ec7dd7dc2d25812fec2107396ef

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024, published in December 2024, looked at more than 200 illnesses and injuries and estimated that a total of 5.8 million years of healthy life expectancy for Australians will be lost due to these health issues.

Of the 'total burden' of illnesses and injuries surveyed - that is

, the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to premature death or illness - more than one-third could have been avoided or mitigated through lifestyle improvements, with 'overweight' being the most prominent example of this in 2024.

Below is a table showing the top five causes of DALYs, years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) from the left. Overweight, including obesity, ranked first in DALYs and YLDs. Tobacco ranked second in DALYs, followed by dietary risks, high blood pressure, and hyperglycemia.

Tobacco was the biggest health risk before 2023, but between 2003 and 2024 the total burden of healthy life years attributable to smoking decreased by 41%.

On the other hand, the burden of obesity has remained stable, which has led authorities to believe that smoking has now ceded the top spot to being overweight.

'It's good news that the number of deaths and illnesses attributable to tobacco are falling - it means decades of tobacco control in Australia are paying off. However, despite this progress, smoking still accounts for 7.6% of the total tobacco burden, so we must not become complacent,' said Terry Slevin, CEO of the Australian Public Health Association.

Overall, Australians are becoming healthier, with the age-adjusted total disease burden rate falling by 10% since 2003 and the fatal disease burden rate, YLL, falling by 26%, although the non-fatal disease burden rate, YLD, has increased by 7%.

Michelle Garry, spokesperson for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, said: 'Although Australians are living longer, the proportion of their lives spent healthy has remained roughly the same, with more years lived in unhealthy conditions. This is putting increasing demands and strain on health systems and services.'