A new report reveals that obesity and overweight are quietly draining $123 million from Australia’s economy every single day – $45 billion annually.

According to the GlobalData report, this isn’t just a health challenge – it’s a “hidden tax” impacting every Australian through lost productivity, reduced tax revenues and mounting healthcare costs.

“We often underestimate the hidden cost of living with obesity,” says Dr Steven Lu, a Melbourne-based general practitioner.

“It’s not just about healthcare expenses – it can affect career choices, confidence to pursue opportunities, and missed experiences.”

Findings from the ‘Cost of inaction in treating obesity in Australia’ report include:

• Workforce productivity challenge. Nearly 240,000 working-age Australians are unable to participate in the workforce due to obesity-related factors. This translates to $13.4 billion in lost earnings and 22.4 million lost workdays annually.
• Business pressure. Australian employers face $20.4 billion in direct productivity costs from absenteeism and presenteeism. The healthcare and social assistance sectors lose $3 billion, while mining incurs $434 million in absenteeism costs from just 225,000 workers.
• Government budget strain. Government budgets absorbed $21.2 billion in reduced tax revenues ($6.5 billion) and increased program costs ($14.6 billion for Medicare, PBS, and Disability Support Pension). The healthcare system paid an additional $10.5 billion treating obesity-related complications – the largest attributable cost among modifiable risk factors.
• Gender inequity. Women bear a disproportionate burden, accounting for 88% of workforce departures due to obesity. Employment losses for women are over seven times those for men. Earnings losses are five times higher among women than men – exacerbated by a lack of federal discrimination safeguards.

“The question for policymakers is not simply what it costs to address obesity, but what it costs not to,” says Tim Dall, Consulting Executive Director at GlobalData, and one of the study authors.

“Our analysis shows that inaction carries its own significant and ongoing price tag.”