New Draft Dietary Guidelines

DAA is pleased the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGTHE) are being reviewed and refined, as these were last updated in 2003. These recommendations, which are developed by independent experts in the field of nutrition, are based on a substantial review of the body of scientific evidence.

The Dietary Guidelines and the AGTHE provide guidance to Australians on foods, food groups and ways of eating that help people get the nutrition they need and also help protect against diet-related chronic disease. They highlight the important role nutrition plays in the health and wellbeing of Australians. The Dietary Guidelines are for generally healthy Australians and are not intended
for the ill or frail.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released a draft of the new Guidelines in late 2011 for public comment. DAA reviewed the Guidelines and the food modeling documents at length, in consultation with our members. The Guidelines are currently being finalised and are expected to be released later this year. Education materials for health professional and the public are also being developed as practical tools to support the AGTHE.

What has changed?

The draft Guidelines released by the NHMRC confirm that the recent food and nutrition guidance that has been given to Australians has generally been on the right track – with the evidence strengthening in some key areas. For example, the evidence is now stronger around the health benefits of breastfeeding, and of eating different types and colours of fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, and milk, yoghurt and cheese.

The key is still to focus on eating a wide variety of nutritious foods every day from the five key food groups, and to drink water.

The draft guidelines also:

  • Focus more on the importance of energy (kilojoule) intake, and being mindful of the portion size and ‘energy-density’ of foods
  • Place less emphasis on limiting total fats, but recommend limiting intake of foods high in saturated fat and trans fatty acids (and replacing these with foods rich in unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats).
  • Provide guidance on weight loss (at a population level) for overweight groups who are otherwise healthy.
  • Now apply to Australians aged from six months (was previously from two years) to 70 years.
  • Highlight family-focused and culturally-specific dietary patterns.

Once the new Guidelines are finalised, the important next step will be to translate these into practical food and nutrition messages for all Australians.

More information at: www.eatforhealth.gov.au

View DAA’s submission.