100,000 Aussie children are now medicated despite it not being recommended

• However for children it's primarily prescribed for anxiety, rather than depression
• One in four Australians aged over 78 were prescribed antidepressants in 2017-18
• In 2018 over 3 million Australians were being prescribed anti-depressants

More than 100,000 Australian children under the age of 17 are now taking anti-depressants, according to a shocking new report.

The number of kids taking medication for anxiety or depression has tripled in the past decade in what professionals are calling an over-diagnosis crisis.

In 2018 three million Australians were prescribed anti-depressants - one in eight people - according to data by health policy watchdog Psych Watch Australia.   

Elderly Australians are most likely to take anti-depressants but the number of young Australians taking the medication is growing a much faster rate.