In the 2021 financial year, approximately one quarter of females aged 16 to 85 living in Australia reported that their weight and/or shape was very or extremely important to them in relation to thoughts about self, compared to around 17.6 percent of males. Close to one third of males responded that their weight and/or shape was not at all important in relation to thoughts about self.
Level of importance of weight/shape in relation to thoughts about self of people in Australia as of financial year 2021, by sex
Australia's financial year runs from July 1 to June 30 of the stated year; for example, financial year 2021 starts on July 1, 2020 and ends on June 30, 2021
Method of interview
Face-to-face interview
Supplementary notes
Binge eating in the survey is defined as a person eating a large amount of food during a short period of time (more than what most people would eat given the circumstances), associated with feeling this eating is out of control (that is, being unable to prevent these eating behaviours or feeling unable to stop). To be considered binge eating, these behaviours must have occurred at least once a week for several months or longer.
A person may have had more than one mental disorder.
Study included all usual residents in Australia living in private dwellings in both urban and rural areas in all states and territories, except very remote parts of Australia and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The exclusion of residents in special dwellings (e.g., hotels, boarding houses, and institutions) and homeless people means the results are likely to underestimate the prevalence of mental health disorders in the Australian population.
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Australian Bureau of Statistics. (July 22, 2022). Level of importance of weight/shape in relation to thoughts about self of people in Australia as of financial year 2021, by sex [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391635/australia-importance-of-weight-and-shape-in-thoughts-about-self-among-population-by-sex/
Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Level of importance of weight/shape in relation to thoughts about self of people in Australia as of financial year 2021, by sex." Chart. July 22, 2022. Statista. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391635/australia-importance-of-weight-and-shape-in-thoughts-about-self-among-population-by-sex/
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Level of importance of weight/shape in relation to thoughts about self of people in Australia as of financial year 2021, by sex. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391635/australia-importance-of-weight-and-shape-in-thoughts-about-self-among-population-by-sex/
Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Level of Importance of Weight/Shape in Relation to Thoughts about Self of People in Australia as of Financial Year 2021, by Sex." Statista, Statista Inc., 22 Jul 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391635/australia-importance-of-weight-and-shape-in-thoughts-about-self-among-population-by-sex/
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Level of importance of weight/shape in relation to thoughts about self of people in Australia as of financial year 2021, by sex Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391635/australia-importance-of-weight-and-shape-in-thoughts-about-self-among-population-by-sex/ (last visited August 25, 2024)
Level of importance of weight/shape in relation to thoughts about self of people in Australia as of financial year 2021, by sex [Graph], Australian Bureau of Statistics, July 22, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391635/australia-importance-of-weight-and-shape-in-thoughts-about-self-among-population-by-sex/