DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

A7.4.3.2. Aboriginal people living in urban areas
Only limited dietary data are available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups in urban
areas. High food costs, poor access to nutritious foods, convenience of take-away foods, budgeting
issues, overcrowding, and poor knowledge and skills have been identified as barriers to healthy
eating in these areas and can lead to food insecurity and overconsumption of energy-dense
nutrient-poor foods and drinks [1039, 1052-1054].
A7.4.3.3 Recommendations specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians
The general Australian dietary guidelines are relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples [135, 232, 1055-1058]. In particular, increased consumption of vegetables and fruits could
be expected to improve the health and nutritional status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people.
Lactose intolerance after the age of three to five years may, however, be problematic in some
areas or for some individuals [421, 422]. Alternative calcium sources such as chewing meat and
fish bones, and consumption of small, soft fish bones (for example, in tinned salmon), and lowlactose
dairy foods (such as matured cheese and yoghurt) are recommended in these cases.
Consumption of traditional bush foods should be supported wherever possible, although intake of
some high saturated fat marine animal foods, such as dugong, should be limited, as was the case
traditionally[1059]. In addition, there may be a problem with high levels of heavy metals in the
organ meat of turtle and dugong [1060].
As with other population groups, it is important to encourage and support breastfeeding, to
ensure that children and adolescents receive sufficient nutritious food to grow and develop
normally, and to ensure that the growth of young children is checked regularly.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would benefit from:
eating traditional foods whenever possible
when choosing store foods, choosing those most like traditional bush foods, such as fresh
plant foods, wholegrain cereal foods, seafoods, and lean meat and poultry.
A7.5 Women
Where women are household heads in less advantaged urban and rural areas, there is increased
risk of poverty, illiteracy and ill health [27, 28, 871].
Women are particularly subject to anaemia between puberty and menopause because of folate or
iron deficiency, and after menopause to osteoporosis and breast cancer. Pregnancy and lactation
DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 187