Health consciousness

IBISWorld expects health consciousness to increase by 0.4% in 2025-26, reaching 112.7 index points. A decline in the national smoking rate and per capita alcohol consumption, along with a rise in apparent fruit and vegetable consumption, will support increased health consciousness. Per capita alcohol consumption is expected to fall as consumers move towards no-alcohol beer and wine options. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), for the first time since 2010, young people aged between 18-24 now drink alcohol weekly instead of as often as daily. However, obesity levels are set to rise as the ageing population is more likely to live sedentary lifestyles than their younger counterparts. The AIHW also notes that as of 2022, 32% of Australian adults were obese, a striking climb from just 19% in 1995. The busier lifestyle of the younger population is also likely to contribute to increased consumption of high-fat, fast food. These negative trends are expected to limit growth in the health consciousness index in 2025-26.

Individuals' concerns regarding their health and well-being have increased over the past five years. The falling national smoking rate and per capita alcohol consumption have driven rising health consciousness. Sharp excise tax increases on tobacco products have helped reduce the nation's smoking rate. Government initiatives like the National Tobacco Strategy and Quitline, to discourage smoking and encourage smokers to quit, have also contributed significantly to the falling smoking rate. Individual alcohol consumption has also declined over the past five years. Government-led campaigns to reduce alcohol-related harm, like the National Alcohol Strategy, have caused declines in per capita alcohol consumption. On average, current young Australians are consuming less alcohol than in previous generations.

Apparent fruit and vegetable consumption has increased over the past five years, as consumers have increasingly sought to improve their diets, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Sport participation, however, has decreased over the past few years, contributing to the rise in obesity and a limited increase in the health consciousness index. Despite government initiatives to increase female participation in sports, cost-of-living pressures have led to a withdrawal from spending on gym and health club memberships, weakening sport participation in recent years. This was in addition to the pandemic-caused drops over the two years through 2020-21. These factors have counteracted the fall in smoking rates and per capita alcohol consumption on the health consciousness index, retricting growth. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts that health consciousness will rise at an annualised 1.0% over the five years through 2025-26.