Australia lives outdoors: beach, sport, sun. With the lowest smoking rate in the world and a strong health system the country reaches a life expectancy of 83.4 years despite a high obesity rate. The lessons range from Slip, Slop, Slap to sport as daily life.
The short answer
High life expectancy despite excess weight, carried by little smoking, plenty of sport and sun. The lesson: smoking is the biggest single factor, sun needs protection, movement needs company.
What you can adopt
- Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide: clothing, sunscreen, hat, shade, sunglasses. With this campaign Australia has lowered skin cancer rates among younger people.
- Sport in a club or group: Australians train in pairs or teams, which turns intention into habit.
- Smoking is the biggest lever: whoever quits gains ten years on average, no matter when.
- Use sea and pool: swimming is joint-friendly endurance and works into old age.
Life and daily routine
Australia is a country that happens outdoors. In the morning people run on the beach, at midday they swim in the ocean pool, in the evening they play cricket or footy at the club. The life expectancy of 83.4 years is remarkable because the obesity rate of 31 percent is among the highest in the world. That it still works is due to the lowest smoking rate in the world, a good health system and a sports culture that takes all age groups along.
Food
Australian food is Western, with fast food and soft drinks, but also with excellent fresh produce, plenty of fish, Asian influences and a coffee culture without syrup. Whoever eats in Sydney or Melbourne finds bowls, salads and fish on every corner. The challenge is quantity: portions and sugary drinks are the reason for the excess weight.
Movement and community
Sport in Australia is community: surf clubs, running groups, clubs for cricket, rugby, netball and swimming in every town. That explains why life expectancy is so high despite excess weight: fitness partly protects against the consequences of weight. Add the sun protection campaign of the 1980s that got a whole generation used to hats and sunscreen.
What we can adopt
The club principle and peer pressure in the good sense: whoever has a sports date shows up. Sun protection as a reflex. And the insight that smoking is the one thing that overrides everything else. With price, packaging and bans Australia has pushed the rate down to 11 percent.
For travellers
Ocean pools, coastal walks and bowl culture make it easy to travel healthily. Sunscreen with factor 50 and a hat are mandatory, UV radiation is much stronger than in Europe or North America.
Try it
Longevity ScoreTwelve questions about sleep, movement, food, stress and habits: your estimated biological age and the three levers with the biggest effect.Vitamin D CalculatorMonth, city, skin type, minutes and how much skin is exposed: how much vitamin D your skin makes and whether it is enough in winter.Frequently asked questions
How does Australia reach such a high life expectancy despite excess weight?
Through the lowest smoking rate in the world, lots of movement, an accessible health system and early treatment of high blood pressure and cholesterol. Fitness offsets part of the weight.
What is Slip, Slop, Slap?
A campaign since 1981: slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, later extended with seek shade and slide on sunglasses. Melanoma rates among under-40s have been falling since.
Is Australia a model for nutrition?
Only partly: the fresh produce is excellent, consumption of soft drinks and fast food too high. The lesson lies in sport and sun protection, not on the plate.
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