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Promoting healthy eating
The role of Australia’s governments
• In the past 20 years, obesity rates have more than
doubled
• The promotion of healthy eating has become vital
• Let’s explore:
– Nutrition surveys
– Nutrient reference values
– Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and Dietary
Guidelines
– Food Standards Australia and New Zealand
Nutrition surveys
• Food consumption patterns and available
foods change significantly over time
• Current info is essential for policy makers,
food regulators and health professionals
• Random national dietary surveys have been
conducted in the past
• An ongoing National Nutrition and Physical
Activity Survey Program is being rolled-out
Nutrient Reference Values
• Introduced in 2006 in Australia to replace the
RDIs (Recommended Dietary Intakes)
• The NRVs are a point of reference ensuring
individuals know which nutrients they should
consume each day
• The NRV system uses four different values for
each nutrient
Defining the four values
• Recommended Daily Intake (RDI): average
daily intake to meet nutritional requirements
of almost all healthy individuals in a particular
stage of life and gender group
• Estimated Average Requirement (EAR):
average daily intake to meet nutritional
requirements of half the healthy individuals in
a particular stage of life and gender group
• Average Intake (AI): average daily intake to
meet nutritional requirements when the RDI
cannot be determined
• Upper Level (UL): highest daily average intake
that is likely to pose no effect on almost all
individuals in the population
Australian Guide to Healthy Eating
• A food selection model i.e. a practical guide to
food selection
• Incorporates five main food groups
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Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
Vegetables, legumes
Fruit
Milk, yoghurt, cheese
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
• ‘Extra’ foods fall outside these five groups and
should be eaten occasionally in small amounts:
Dietary Guidelines
• A Federal Government initiative
• Customised for different stages of lifespan:
– Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults
– Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in
Australia
Food Legislation
• Food Standards Australian and New Zealand
(FSANZ) is an independent statutory authority
having the ultimate responsibility for ensuring a
safe food supply to consumers
• Key functions of FSANZ:
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Food standards
Food surveillance and recall
Food labelling
Food safety
Nutrient and health claims
Non-Government Organisations
• NGOs are not part of Federal, State or Local
government structure and are generally notfor-profit
• Nutrition Australia and the Heart Foundation
are two Australian NGOs that promote healthy
eating
Nutrition Australia
• Non-government, non-profit, communitybased organisation that aims to provide
scientifically based information to encourage
all Australians to achieve optimal health
through food and physical activity
• Best know for its Healthy Living Pyramid
(another food selection model)
• www.nutritionaustralia.org
Heart Foundation
• Mission of the Heart Foundation: “to reduce
suffering and death from heart, stroke and
blood vessel disease in Australia”
• Best known for the Heart Foundation Tick
program
• www.heartfoundation.org.au