AUSTRALIANS need to lose a combined 120 million kilograms to return to a healthy weight range.

The average Australian man now weighs 85.9kg – that’s 6.5kg heavier than he was in 1989 – according to a National Heart Foundation analysis on the severity of the nation’s weight problem.

A breakdown of Heart Foundation national health surveys and government data also revealed that the average woman has gained 5.7kg in the past 25 years and now tips the scales at 71.1kg.

The Heart Foundation’s national director of cardiovascular health, Dr Rob Grenfell, said two-thirds of Australians now fall outside the healthy weight range, with nearly half a million people morbidly obese (BMI > 40).

“To return to a healthy weight range, an average man would need to lose 8.9kg and a woman would need to lose 5.7kg,” Dr Grenfell said.

“The combined weight loss required is just short of 120 million kilograms across the nation.”

The analysis highlights that the average BMI for men is up from 25.3 to 27.9 since 1989, and the average for women is up from 24.3 to 27.2.

Obesity has increased from 8.4% of the population in 1980, to 28.3% in 2011–12.

“It’s scary that two in three Australians are now above the healthy weight range, making overweight and obese weight ranges more ‘normal’ than healthy,” he said.

“The healthiest BMI is relatively lean, at around 22.5–24.9, which is equivalent to a weight of 70–77kg for an Australian man of average height and 59–65kg for an Australian woman of average height.”

In comparison to 1980, the proportion of obese adult Australians has tripled, while the number of people in the healthy weight range has almost halved.

WA and Queensland now have the highest average male BMIs at 28.2, according to the Australian Health Survey of 2011/12, with the highest average female BMIs, 27.7, occurring in SA and Tasmania.

Victoria has the lowest average BMIs at 27.6 for men and 26.9 for women.