Posted by 
Being overweight or obese has overtaken tobacco smoking as the leading risk of disease, new data shows.
The Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024 released today estimates Australians lost 5.8 million years of healthy life due to living with illness and injury or dying prematurely.
The body is calling on the federal government to take action against obesity to help keep thousands out of hospital.
READ MORE: When are ATARs released and how do I access them?
An estimated 8.3 per cent of the total disease burden in 2024 was due to being overweight or obese.
Tobacco use has long been the leading risk factor but there has been a 41 per cent fall in the total burden attributable to tobacco use between 2003 and 2024, after adjusting for age.
Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Professor Terry Slevin said there had also been 10 per cent decline in the rate of total burden during that period.
"The good news is that the burden of disease in Australia has fallen by 10 per cent over the past 20 years, and public health measures are playing an important part in helping us to be healthier and live longer lives," Slevin said.
"It's also welcome news that tobacco is causing fewer deaths and diseases than in 2004. Decades of tobacco control efforts in Australia are paying off.
"Despite this progress, smoking still accounts for 7.6 per cent of the disease burden.
"We can't afford to be complacent.
"This year public health experts have welcomed the government's world-leading vaping and tobacco legislation to help us protect the health of Australians, particularly young people."
READ MORE: Users worldwide unable to access Facebook and Instagram amid outage
More than one-third of cases of disease and injury could be prevented by reducing exposure, according to the study.
Meanwhile, males experienced more total disease burden than females, for most age groups.
This was driven by males having higher rates of fatal burden, the study noted.
Slevin said the report showed there was still much more work to do, particularly when it comes to tackling obesity and overweight.
"Obesity and overweight is now the main cause of preventable death and disease, causing 8.3 per cent of the burden of disease," he said.
"Dietary risk also causes an additional 4.8 per cent of the preventable disease burden – this includes things like excess salt intake which contributes to high blood pressure."
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
