A third of Australians' energy intake comes from junk food, according to a new government report.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)'s Nutrition Across the Life Stages report, released on Friday, a third of the average Australian's energy intake comes from so-called "discretionary foods": foods which, according to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, are high energy foods "not necessary to provide the nutrients the body needs".
A third of Australians’ energy intake comes from junk food, according to a new government report.Credit:Stocksy
Discretionary food consumption is highest among teenagers, who receive 41 per cent of their energy intake from these foods.
The report found the types of discretionary food we consume changes as we age. While the most common energy-dense junk foods consumed by children include cakes, muffins, sweet biscuits, chips and ice cream, in the 51-70 age bracket, alcoholic drinks formed one fifth of discretionary consumption.
The report also found eating enough vegetables is a struggle for us all, with no age group of men or women successfully consuming an average of five serves of vegetables each day, as is recommended by the guidelines. Only one in 10 adults achieve this as part of their daily diet.
Notably, children fared even worse: ninety-nine per cent of Australians aged two to 18 are not eating enough vegetables.
However, younger children are leading the pack when it comes to eating the guidelines' recommended two serves of fruit, with the two to eight years bracket being the only group who achieve this, on average. Toddlers aged two to three were the only group consuming the required amount of dairy.
Women were more likely than men to fail to consume sufficient calcium and iron. This was particularly a problem for teenage girls (among the 14-18 age group, 90 per cent are not getting enough calcium, and 40 per cent do not meet the recommended iron intake). Women over 50 also had low levels of calcium in their diet, while close to 40 per cent of those aged 19-50 were consuming less than the estimated average requirement of iron.
There is some good news, said AIHW spokesperson Claire Sparke, who noted Australians are "generally getting enough of the nutrients we need" and our diets have slightly improved since comparable statistics were collected in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.
"Since 1995, we’ve… seen a general decrease in the contribution of added sugars and fat to our energy intake, as well as a fall in how much discretionary food we’re eating," she said.
Despite claims that plant-based diets are rising in popularity, the report found the average Australian adult consumed more meat than they did in 1995, and slightly fewer vegetables.
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