A new study has revealed losing weight is the most Googled personal goal in Australia, followed by healthy eating and drinking more water. It seems Australians want to stop snoring and quit smoking more than they want to develop their career paths, put an end to drinking or get better sleep.
This was revealed by a new study from training provider CPR First Aid, who analysed Google search volumes of 65 top-trending keywords related to personal goals throughout Australia in the summer. The top ten emerging themes cover eight months’ worth of search volumes for November, December, January and February of 2022 and 2023.
Losing weight is the most Googled theme in every state and territory in the country, averaging 365,360 searches per month around the summer months. Australians looked up inquiries related to weight loss twice as much as the next most popular personal goal – healthy eating.
The interest in shedding some kilos is relatively even across Australia, though NSW had a 2.52 per cent higher rate than the rest of the country. ‘How to lose weight fast’ was the most searched term within this theme in December 2023 throughout Australia.
Healthy eating
This is the second most popular online search in terms of personal goals. Searches for keywords related to healthy eating averaged 192,590 inputs per month in the period around the summer months.
Searches for ‘healthy eating plan’ peaked in January 2023, with interest in healthy eating fairly uniform across the country. 3.8 per cent more searches came from the Northern Territory.
Each summer, Australians seek advice on increasing their water consumption. Who knows why Google is required to solve this mystery, but on average, there were 165,050 monthly searches related to ways of drinking more water. This is the third most looked up objective in the country.
Water intake goals were of particularly high interest in the ACT, where searches are 11.34 per cent above the national average.
From November through February, career development, alcohol consumption and sleep quality appear less of a concern compared to desires to stop snoring or kick the smoking habit. Tasmanians want to stop snoring the most – 22.20 per cent more than the average Australian. People in the Northern Territory want to quit smoking 28.56 per cent more than anyone else in Australia.
Residents of Western Australia are far more interested in developing a career path than people elsewhere. WA residents are 72 percent more concerned about their career development than the average Australian.
Drinking and sleep
No one wants to stop drinking as much as people in the NT. Their search histories point towards an 81 per cent higher interest in giving up alcohol than in other parts of the country. This is also where hopes for better sleep are more than double the national average.
The same goes for improving their budgeting skills, with Northern Territory residents researching the topic online 132.20 per cent more than their fellow Australians.
Overthinking is also in the nation’s top ten most searched personal goals. NSW is especially worried about this, with a 4.46 per cent higher likelihood of looking for a way to stop overthinking by Googling it.
A spokesperson for CPR First Aid commented on the findings, saying ‘we aimed to cover as wide a range of personal goals as possible, from jobs and mental health to addictions and lifestyle habits like procrastination and biting nails.
‘We were very surprised that all the top five goals Aussies aim for are entirely health-related. Being healthy seems more important to us than our career trajectories, for instance, and that speaks volumes about our priorities as a society.’
