” Health risk factors are attributes, characteristics or exposures that increase the likelihood of a person developing a disease or health disorder.
Examples of health risk factors include risky alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and high blood pressure.
High-quality information on health risk factors is important in providing an evidence base to inform health policy, program and service delivery.”
New information on lifetime risky alcohol consumption, high blood pressure and insufficient physical activity are presented in the Fact Sheets below.
This update is accompanied by an interactive web tool that shows how your local area compares with the national average and allows comparison between each area.
These fact sheets display variation in health risk factors across Primary Health Network (PHN) areas.
In 2014–15:
- Around 1 in 6 Australian adults (17%) reported lifetime risky alcohol consumption
- Over half of Australian adults (56%) reported insufficient physical activity participation
- Almost 1 in 3 Australian adults (34%) had high blood pressure.
1.A lifetime risky alcohol consumption
This fact sheet covers local-level results for the proportion of Australian adults (aged 18 years and over) who reported consuming more than 2 standard drinks of alcohol per day on average—thereby increasing their lifetime risk of harm from alcohol consumption. Results are presented by Primary Health Network (PHN) areas.
Please note, the results presented are crude rates, which reflect the actual level of lifetime risky alcohol consumption in the community. However, caution is needed when making comparisons across PHNs as the rates presented do not account for differences in the age of the populations.
What is lifetime risky alcohol consumption?
Alcohol consumption refers to the consumption of drinks containing ethanol, commonly referred to as alcohol. The quantity, frequency or regularity with which alcohol is drunk provides a measure of the level of alcohol consumption.
Lifetime risky alcohol consumption refers to Australian adults consuming more than 2 standard drinks per day on average. That is, alcohol consumption exceeding the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (see Box 1 for more information).
Based on survey data from 2014–15, 17.4% of Australian adults reported lifetime risky alcohol consumption.
2.Insufficient physical activity
This fact sheet covers local-level results for the proportion of Australian adults (18 years and over) who reported insufficient levels of physical activity. Results are presented by Primary Health Network (PHN) areas.
Please note, the results presented are crude rates, which reflect the actual level of insufficient physical activity in the community. However, caution is needed when making comparisons across PHNs as the rates presented do not account for differences in the age of the populations.
What is insufficient physical activity?
Physical activity is the expenditure of energy generated by moving muscles in the body. Most physical activity occurs during leisure time, or through active transport and incidental activity such as housework or gardening.
Insufficient physical activity refers to physical activity levels that do not meet the Department of Health’s Australia’s Physical Activity & Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines (see Box 1 for more information).
This includes adults (18–64 years) who did not complete more than 150 minutes of physical activity, on at least 5 sessions over a week, and older Australians (65+ years) who did not complete 30 minutes of activity on at least 5 days.
Based on self-reported survey data from 2014–15, 56.4% of Australian adults had insufficient levels of physical activity
3. High blood pressure
This fact sheet covers local-level results for the proportion of Australian adults (aged 18 years and over) who had high blood pressure and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Results are presented by Primary Health Network (PHN) areas.
Please note, the results presented are crude rates, which reflect the actual level of high blood pressure in the community. However, caution is needed when making comparisons across PHNs as the rates presented do not account for differences in the age of the populations.
What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is defined in this fact sheet by the World Health Organization definition (see Box 1 for more information).
Uncontrolled high blood pressure as defined here refers to all people with measured high blood pressure, regardless of whether they are taking medication. It is presented for context in this fact sheet.
High blood pressure is an important and treatable cause of disease and death. It is a major risk factor for chronic diseases including stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
The modifiable risk factors for high blood pressure include poor diet (particularly high salt intake), obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and insufficient physical activity. Lifestyle changes and medication can help to control high blood pressure.
Based on survey data from 2014–15, 33.7% of Australian adults had high blood pressure. There were 23.0% of Australian adults who had uncontrolled high blood pressure.