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Australian
Dietary Guidelines
The
Dietary Guidelines provide advice to
the general population about healthy
food choices, so that their usual diet
contributes to a healthy lifestyle and
is consistent, with minimal risk for
the development of diet-related disorders.
The guidelines represent the best consensus
of scientific knowledge and public health
advice currently available. They recognise
the modern nutrition problems related
to excess intakes of various nutrients
and associations with various disease
states. The first guideline is in effect
an umbrella statement. All subsequent
guidelines describe different facets
of variety in the diet.
Whilst
clearly providing a basis for counselling
on healthy eating, they are broad and still
need to be interpreted, in a practical sense,
for the individual patient. In short, these
are guidelines for healthy eating, and they
require supporting educational programs
and food assessment tools in order to achieve
their aims. They apply to the total diet,
and it is not appropriate to use them to
assess ‘healthiness’ of individual
food items. They are designed for consideration
as a coherent set of advice or information,
and individual guidelines cannot be considered
in isolation.
Use:
- Overall
counselling on a diet, once as assessment
has been made
- Guidelines
for change in a person’s eating habits.
Comparison
between ‘Dietary guidelines for Australians’
and Dietary guidelines for children and
adolescents’
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Dietary guidelines for Australians
(NHMRC, 1994) |
Dietary guidelines for children
and adolescents (NHMRC, 1995) |
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1. Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious
foods. |
1. Encourage and support breastfeeding. |
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2. Eat plenty of breads and cereals
(preferably wholegrain, vegetables
(including legumes) and fruits. |
2. Children need appropriate food
and physical activity to grow
and develop normally. Growth should
be checked regularly. |
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3. Eat a diet low in fat and,
in particular low in saturated
fat. |
3. Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious
foods. |
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4. Maintain a healthy body weight
by balancing physical activity
& food intake. |
4. Eat plenty of breads and cereals,
vegetables (including legumes)
& fruits. |
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5. If you drink alcohol, limit
your intake. |
5. Low fat diets are not suitable
for young children. For older
children, a diet low in fat and
in particular, low in saturated
fat, is appropriate. |
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6. Eat only a moderate amount
of sugars and foods containing
added sugars. |
6. Encourage water as a drink.
Alcohol is not recommended for
children. |
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7. Choose low salt foods and use
salt sparingly. |
7. Eat only moderate amounts of
sugars and foods containing sugars. |
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8. Encourage and support breastfeeding. |
8. Choose low salt foods. |
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Guidelines for specific nutrients. |
Guidelines for specific nutrients. |
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9. Eat foods containing calcium.
This is particularly important
for girls & women. |
9. Eat foods containing calcium. |
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10. Eat foods containing iron.
This is particularly important
for girls, women, vegetarians
and athletes. |
10. Eat foods containing iron. |
Dietary
Guidelines for Infants
Dietary Guidelines
for Children and Adolescents
Dietary Guidelines
for Australians
Dietary
Guidelines for Older Adults
Last
Updated: April 4, 2001
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