Obesity Policy

About this policy

Cancer Council Australia’s obesity policy presents evidence-based actions to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity and reduce the risk of obesity-related cancers and their impacts. It covers policy to prevent the development of overweight and obesity across the population, and the existing, evidence-based treatment and management options. The impact in Australia of cancers related to obesity and overweight, physical inactivity, and inadequate diet, and evidence on the links between these factors and cancer are also covered.

This policy was developed by Cancer Council Australia’s Nutrition, Alcohol and Physical Activity Committee and was endorsed by the principal Public Health Committee. It has been externally reviewed by leading experts including Professor Louise Baur (The University of Sydney). This section was published in January 2026.

Contact: cancercontrolpolicy@cancer.org.au

Contents

• Overview
• Policy context
• Policy priorities
• Evidence informing policy

Overview

In 2024, overweight and obesity were the leading cause of preventable disease in Australia, accounting for 8.3% of the total burden of chronic disease. Dietary factors underpinned a further 4.8% of the total burden of disease in Australia.¹

Healthy eating and physical activity protect against certain cancers both directly, as independent risk factors, and indirectly, through their impact on body weight.² In Australia, it was estimated that 4.3% (5,371 cases) of all cancers diagnosed in 2013 were attributable to overweight/obesity, 1.1% (1,308 cases) to inadequate intake of fruit, 0.2% (247 cases) to inadequate non-starchy vegetables, 2.1% (2,620 cases) to inadequate dietary fibre, and 2.1% (2,663 cases) to consumption of red and processed meat.³

Additionally, it was estimated that 4.8% (6,361 cases) of all cancers diagnosed in 2015 were attributable to physical inactivity. ⁴ Further information can be found in our Physical Inactivity Policy.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has shown there is sufficient evidence that high body mass increases the risk of 13 types of cancer. ⁵ Of these, there is convincing evidence that overweight and obesity increase the risk of cancers of the oesophagus, pancreas, bowel, breast (post-menopausal), endometrium, kidney and liver.⁶ Addressing these risk factors is an important objective for reducing Australia’s cancer burden given obesity and overweight have reached record levels in the Australian population.

It is now understood that obesity results from a complex interplay of biological and societal factors and that powerful biological drivers promote weight gain and subsequently make it difficult to achieve and maintain weight loss. Despite this, obesity is often represented as a problem of individual responsibility and control, fueling stigmatising attitudes around those living in a larger body.^{7, 8}Weight stigma refers to the harmful notions about, attitudes towards, and the subsequent mistreatment of, individuals who have overweight or obesity. ⁹ Weight stigma often arises out of, and is perpetuated by, the mis-representation of the true drivers of obesity.

Weight stigma is considered a key contributor to ongoing weight-related behaviours among those with obesity ¹⁰ and is often experienced across a range of settings, including at home, schools and education institutions, the general community, workplaces, in healthcare and through social media. Current policy and media depictions as well as broad societal attitudes that reinforce victim blaming and the simplistic rhetoric regarding obesity perpetuate the unintended consequence of poorer health outcomes for those with overweight or obesity.¹⁰These effects can be observed directly, including decreased motivation to exercise and engage in healthy eating practices, as well as indirectly, such as the avoidance of medical care or a reduction in the quality of care for people with overweight or obesity. ¹⁰ A comprehensive approach at the individual, interpersonal and societal level as well as within healthcare and public health policy is required to effectively address weight stigma while mitigating the impact of the rising obesity rates in Australia. Care must be taken to consider the effect that our policies have on weight stigma.

It is also important to acknowledge the ongoing debate among policymakers and clinicians regarding the current diagnostic approach to obesity, which arguably lends itself to misclassification of excess body fat and misdiagnosis of disease. A Global Commission, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, presents a novel approach to diagnosing obesity that considers other measures of excess body fat such as waist circumference and objective indications and symptoms of individual ill health. ¹¹ This approach aims to address existing limitations in the traditional classification and diagnosis of obesity that impede clinical practice and healthcare policy, resulting in people with overweight or obesity not receiving appropriate care.

Key policy priorities in summary

• Implement actions under the National Obesity Strategy and the National Preventive Health Strategy that are effective, health promoting and cost saving.
• Create environments that support healthy eating:
  • Develop and implement a National Nutrition Policy Framework to identify, prioritise, drive and monitor healthy eating in Australia
  • Mandate the Health Star Rating System to support healthy food options
  • Implement government regulation to protect children from the marketing of unhealthy foods and drinks
  • Introduce a health levy on sugar sweetened beverages
  • Apply nutrient profiling to all nutrition and health claims on food labels to prevent nutrition claims OR prevent nutrition claims about unhealthy foods on labels and in advertising.
    
• Support Australians through social marketing campaigns encouraging healthy eating behaviours.
  
• Promote equitable access to quality, evidence-based, obesity treatment and management services.
  • Prioritise flexible and accessible referral pathways and models of care ensuring holistic and person-centred care.
  • Ensure healthcare professionals can deliver best practice by having access to evidence-based and current appropriate and relevant guidelines.
  • Increase access to surgery and TGA-approved medications for people with greatest need to ensure cost is not a barrier to treatment.
  • Prioritise the availability of multi-disciplinary, evidence-based interventions for people with obesity.
• Eliminate weight stigma in the prevention, management and treatment of obesity.
  • Promote the use of inclusive language and imagery to help reduce weight bias and stigma.
  • Prioritise lived experience perspectives to effectively reduce the impact of weight stigma.