Obesity among baby boomers is more than double the rate of their parents at the same age, a study has concluded.

Researchers from Adelaide's three universities have completed the first stage of a report on the generation born between the end of the Second World War and the mid-1960s.

The study said the proportion of baby boomers with three or more chronic conditions was 700 per cent greater than the previous generation.

They have twice the rate of asthma and hearing loss, three times the rate of diabetes and almost double the cholesterol levels of their parents.

Professor Graeme Hugo from the University of Adelaide said the findings were alarming and evidence that new public policies were needed.

"We have to do something now in terms of reducing obesity as a risk factor if we're going to manage health costs into the future, but I think more importantly if baby boomers are going to be able to lead active and productive lives in their later years," he said.

Professor Hugo said Australia had a brief window of opportunity to form policies to help boomers maximise their chances of leading active and productive later lives.