Australians are more likely to be overweight, less likely to marry, and are consuming more goods and services as their income increases, according to a new snapshot of the nation.
The new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report - Australian Social Trends 2007 - highlights some of the changes in the way we live.
The latest figures (2004/05) show that around 7.4 million, or 54 per cent, of Australian adults were overweight or obese.
This is an increase from more than two million adults in 1995.
And obesity rates are surging, compared with those adults who are overweight.
In 1995, 13 per cent of adults were obese while in 2004/2005, that figure has climbed to 18 per cent.
Thirty-six per cent of Australian adults were overweight when the figures were collated, up from 33 per cent in 1995.
And diabetes continues to be a major health issue in the indigenous community.
In 2004/05, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were over three times as likely as non-indigenous people to have diabetes and more than 10 times as likely to have kidney disease.
People are less likely to get married, the social trends reveal.
Based on current rates, 31 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women would never marry.
At the same time, the number of marriages ending in divorce have increased.
One-third of marriages in 2000/02 could be expected to end in divorce, compared with 28 per cent of marriages in 1985/87.
In 2004/06, one in five children were in one-parent families and at a higher risk of disadvantage.
In 2003/04, 49 per cent of one-parent families with children under 15 had both low income and low wealth, compared with 11 per cent of couple families with children of the same age.
Meanwhile, Australian women are having more babies.
Australia's total fertility rate has increased since 2001, reaching 1.81 babies per woman in 2005, the highest level recorded since 1995.
In 2001, the total fertility rate fell to an historic low of 1.73 babies per woman.
Women aged 30 years and over and living in more advantaged areas are driving this boom.
In Australia's labour force, more women are working, up from 74 per cent in 1990 to 76 per cent in 2005 for people aged 15-64 years.
The Australian labour force participation rate for women of child-bearing age (15-44 years) rose from 59 per cent to 75 per cent between 1980 and 2005.
And Australians are buying more products, with affordability generally improving between 1985/86 and 2005/06.
This reflects an increase in household disposable income, increasing from 5.1 per cent per year between 1985/86 and 2005/06.
msn, Aug 7 2007
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