HEALTH SURVEY: a snapshot of Aussie women

The good news is we’re smoking less and more of us are exercising. But we’re also stressed and overusing alcohol. A recent snapshot reveals the physical and mental health of Australian women.

More than half of Australian women describe their overall health as very good or excellent, more than 90 per cent have not smoked in the past year and seven out of 10 do at least two hours of moderate physical activity each week. But other results from the Jean Hailes for Women’s Health survey of 15,262 women aren’t so rosy – Australian women are also stressed, depressed and drinking too much. Encouragingly, we’re also active and eager for information on how to be happier and healthier. We’re getting better at asking for professional help but often nd it hard to access the services needed to support them.

Janet Michelmore, the executive director of Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, says there are positive messages to come out of the data, as well as some shocking statistics.

“Women are trying to be all things to all people,” she says. “Their mental tness and wellbeing is suffering. Women of a certain age are very much part of the sandwich generation, they’re looking after teenage children, full-time work, elderly parents. There is not much time in the day for physical and mental self-care, as the expectations on women and the speed at which society moves put demands on both women and men.”

But it’s also reassuring to know that as women age, they’re less likely to feel anxious. Only a fth of women aged between 18 and 35 say they have not felt anxious at all over the previous four-week period, but more than half of women aged 80-plus say they have no feelings of anxiety.