Australians are living longer but are suffering from serious illnesses such as depression, diabetes and back pain, a global health study has found.

Australian women will continue to outlive men and while life expectancy has improved many people will suffer from depression, diabetes and back pain, a global study has found.

A woman born in Australia in 2016 has a life expectancy of 84.6 years, with a man expected to live to 80.5 years, the Global Burden of Disease study found.

"In Australia we have made substantial health progress in the past 20 years," GBD study co-founder and University of Melbourne Laureate professor Alan Lopez said.

However, illnesses such as depression, diabetes as well as back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders were impacting the quality of life for many Australians.

"A triad of troubles - obesity, musculoskeletal ailments and mental illness, including substance abuse disorders - poses a stubborn and persistent barrier to the health of many people," Prof Lopez said.

Australians were much less motivated to address the issues that lead to illness, he said.

Other major findings for Australia show the top five causes of premature death are heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, self-harm and Alzheimer's disease.

Obesity-related illness was rising quickly across all demographics around the world, the study also found, with poor diet associated with one in five deaths.

The Global Burden of Disease study compiles data of more than 2500 collaborators from 130 countries and territories.

The data from the study will be published in international medical journal The Lancet on Friday.