Women’s health week survey shows how far we have to go

The results are in and, to be honest, they could be better! Women know what they should be doing to improve their health, but six out of 10 still can’t find time for 2.5hours exercise a week, and 40% of women were diagnosed with anxiety or depression.

That’s some of the latest findings from the third annual 2017 Jean Hailes for Women’s Health Survey of more than 10,000 women across Australia.

Released ahead of  Women’s Health Week (September 4- 11), the survey shows that although most of us believe we are in good health, more than 60% reported being overweight or slightly overweight. And despite knowing what to do about it (nearly all of us knew how and where to access health professionals), we don’t seem to be making many changes.

Jean Hailes said women account for  51% of the Australian population and constitute a growing proportion of the older population (1) experiencing a greater percentage of chronic disease and disability compared to men. ( 2)

The Report also said women are reporting increased incidents of ill health, medical and allied health appointment attendances and medication use.

Some of the interesting results from the survey include;

• Almost 40% of women have been professionally diagnosed with depression or anxiety, and most respondents indicated having a level of mild anxiety.
  Interestingly the severity of anxiety decreases with each increase in age group. Women aged 18-35 years are the most anxious age group among women in Australia.
• Around 60% of women don’t do the required 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity a week
  Being too tired was the most significant barrier, closely followed by lack of time and finding someone to be active with. The ACT and NT were the two states where women were more likely to do the required level of exercise.
• More than 60% of women think that they’re overweight.
  And almost half of all women surveyed want more information on healthy eating and nutrition, despite the saturated market.

To read the full report visit https://jeanhailes.org.au/survey2017/

So what can we do about it?

Next week Jean Hailes will be running hundreds of events around the country for Women’s Health Week.

Sign-up for the daily updates and information about how you can improve your health, enter a competition or attend an event to get involved.

According to Jean Hailes’ Executive Director, Janet Michelmore AO, it’s time to put ourselves first.

“The two biggest barriers for women not maintaining a healthy lifestyle is ‘lack of time’ and ‘health not being a priority’,” Janet said.

“Women’s Health Week is the time to put ourselves first, for just one week, and start making positive changes that can last a lifetime.”

Watch the video to find out more and sign up for Women’s Health Week HERE.