Public Health Issues in Australia | Essay

Running Head: PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES IN AUSTRALIA
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Public Health Issues in Australia

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Australia was considered to be one of the highest life expectancy countries in the world as the
major population in the country has considered themselves with good health. As per current
scenario Australia is facing the same issues like any other countries in the world, out of which
health issues are the major concern for the country. Factors such as poor nutrition of food,
harmful gases, physical inactivity etc. have led to the development of the chronic disease. A
chronic disease can be defined as mental as well as physical issues which are evolving around
the life style of the individuals, these disease can be intense and severe for example asthma,
cancers, kidney disease, diabetes etc. According to a survey in Australia people aged between 45
to 60 years are suffering from various chronic diseases. These diseases are generally caused due
to frequent change in the lifestyle of the individuals (The Australian Prevention Partnership
center, 2019).
As per the reports nearly fifty percent of people in Australia are suffering from chronic diseases.
The sudden development and increase in chronic diseases very alarming for the country like
Australia. According to a survey, majority of population in the country is unbalanced life styles
and higher intake of unhygienic food which contains fewer minerals and more fats. The
consumption of vegetables and protein intake among the people is very low which proves to be
one of the major factors of illness for the people living in Australia. The following chart shows a
graphical representation in the form of percentage, of an increase in chronic disease amongst the
people of Australia at different age groups in the year 2018-2019 (Mathew and Corso, 2019).
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(Source: The Australian Prevention Partnership center, 2019)
A rapid increase in such kind of diseases has also caused monetary as well as mental stress to
the people of Australia. Such type of diseases are also causing a major cut in the economy of the
country as the people suffering with such diseases are resisting with less productivity which has
directly or indirectly affected the economy of the country. As per the reports of the Australian
Prevention partnership center, the lack of physical activity has led to such increase in the chronic
disease (Jordan and Osborne, 2017). The reports also suggested that by the year of 2025 at least
75% of the population of the country would be facing the problem of chronic diseases. In order
to prevent such disease, people should follow the habit of consuming hygienic and healthy foods
with some good physical exercise. Apart from living a healthy lifestyle, mental health of the
individual is also important to have a balanced lifestyle. The burden of carrying a chronic disease
also causes a great stress to the people having it, in order to remove such burden; people are well
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advised to share their current problems and issues with their friends, family and relatives which
ultimately help in decreasing the mental sickness of the individual (Weeramanthri, et al 2014).
References
Jordan, J.E. and Osborne, R.H., (2017) Chronic disease self‐management education programs:
challenges ahead. Medical Journal of Australia, 186(2), pp.84-87.
Mathew, T. and Corso, O., (2019) early detection of chronic kidney disease in Australia: which
way to go?. Nephrology, 14(4), pp.367-373.
The Australian Prevention Partnership center, (2019) The burden of chronic disease [Online]
Available from https://preventioncentre.org.au/chronic-disease-and-systems/the-burden-of-
chronic-disease/ [Accessed on 1st February 2020]
Weeramanthri, T., Hendy, S., Connors, C., Ashbridge, D., Rae, C., Dunn, M., Fittock, M.,
Cleary, J., O'Donohoe, L., Morton, S. and Swanson, N., (2014) The Northern Territory
Preventable Chronic Disease Strategy-promoting an integrated and life course approach to
chronic disease in Australia. Australian Health Review, 26(3), pp.31-42.
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