Aboriginal health

Aboriginal health in Victoria

The Department of Health is committed to helping to improve the length and quality of the lives of Aboriginal Victorians.

The five leading causes of Aboriginal mortality rates account for 71 per cent of the overall life-expectancy gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians:

• circulatory disease
• injury and poisoning
• diabetes
• respiratory disease
• cancer.

The leading risk factors that contribute to the health gap include:

• tobacco - 17 per cent
• obesity – 16 per cent
• physical inactivity – 12 per cent
• high blood cholesterol – 7 per cent
• high blood pressure – 6 per cent
• low fruit and vegetable intake – 5 per cent
• alcohol – 4 per cent.