DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

energy expenditure, depends on both the amount of physical activity and the body mass to be
moved during the process. Active energy expenditure is the only aspect of energy expenditure
which is under conscious control through physical activity [9, 745].
Resting energy expenditure, active energy expenditure and total energy expenditure are all
substantially increased in obesity, [746] which contradicts the view that obesity is due to ‘low
metabolism’ and is maintained despite a low level of food intake [723]. However energy
expenditure per kilogram of body mass does decline with increasing BMI, even at the same
physical activity level [745].
4.1.4 Physical activity
Physical activity includes both structured activities such as sport or organised recreation and
unstructured activities such as incidental daily activities at work or home such as gardening or
walking/cycling for leisure or transport [747].
For the current Australian recommendations for physical activity, see Appendix 4.
4.1.4.1 Physical activity levels of specific groups
The proportion of Australian adults reporting recommended levels of physical activity declined
from 62% in 1997 to 57% in 2000 [748], with no subsequent reliable national data available for
comparison. The 2007–08 National Health Survey results cannot directly assess compliance with
physical activity recommendations due to different methodology. However, state-based survey
results suggest small increases in physical activity participation at levels providing health benefits
since around 2004 [4, 749, 750]
The National Children’s and Adolescent’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey found that 69% of
Australian children were likely to meet the physical activity guidelines on any given day [13].
Adolescent girls were less active than boys, particularly in the older age groups. Underweight and
obese children tended to have lower physical activity levels than children of a healthy weight [13].
Available state data were generally consistent with these findings [697, 751, 752].
In 2007, Australian children aged 9–16 years spent more than 3.5 hours/day on average in
sedentary behaviour such as watching television, playing video/computer games and/or using
computers more generally [13]. On any given day, 67% of children spend more than the
recommended maximum of 120 minutes of recreational screen time.
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