Poor lifestyle leads to disease in Australia
The new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report – The Burden of Disease and Injury in Australia 2003 – shows that an estimated 32% of disease is due to poor lifestyle choices.
Cancer and cardiovascular disease were the leading causes of the burden of disease in 2003. Cancer has remained static at 19% while cardiovascular disease has decreased from 22% in 1993 to 18 in 2003.
The report found that poor lifestyle choices accounted for 32% of the total burden of disease and injury. This includes:
. Cardiovascular disease – 69.3% of the burden of disease was contributed to factors such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and physical inactivity;
. Diabetes – 60.1% of the burden was due to obesity and physical inactivity;
. Cancer – 32.9% was due to 10 poor lifestyle factors, primarily smoking;
. Injury – 31.7% was due to seven poor lifestyle factors, primarily alcohol consumption; and,
. Mental disorders – 26.9% of the burden was due to four poor lifestyle factors, mainly alcohol consumption and illicit drug use.
Diabetes is now the fourth largest contributor to the disease burden in Australia at 5%. Type 2 diabetes accounted for 92% of diabetes cases.
The report found that this is a direct consequence of increasing levels of obesity and physical inactivity. The report also says that if current trends continue, diabetes will account for 9% of the total disease burden in 2023.
The report, prepared primarily by the University of Queensland with input from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, is the first complete assessment of the health of Australians to be released in the new millennium, and significantly expands the scope of the first burden of disease study released by the Institute in 1999.
