DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

Preface
Never in our nation’s history have Australians had such a wide variety of dietary options. Yet the
rising incidence of obesity and diabetes in our population is evidence of the need for Australians to
improve their health by making better dietary decisions.
There are many ways for Australians to choose foods that promote their health and wellbeing
while reducing their risk of chronic disease. NHMRC‘s Australian Dietary Guidelines provide
recommendations for healthy eating that are realistic, practical, and - most importantly - based on
the best available scientific evidence.
These Guidelines are an evolution of the 2003 Dietary Guidelines, integrating updates of the Dietary
Guidelines for Older Australians (1999), the Dietary Guidelines for Adults (2003) and the Dietary
Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia (2003). They also include an update of the
Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (1998).
Providing the recommendations and the evidence that underpins them in a single volume, the
Guidelines will help health professionals, policy makers and the Australian public cut through the
background noise of ubiquitous dietary advice that is often based on scant scientific evidence. They
form a bridge between research and evidence based advice to address the major health challenge
of improving Australians’ eating patterns.
The evidence for public health advice should be the best available. NHMRC is confident that the
available evidence underpinning these guidelines meets that criterion and is stronger than for any
previous NHMRC dietary guideline.
NHMRC acknowledges that population growth, economic issues and environmental pressures
affect food availability and affordability on global, national and regional scales. The interaction
between dietary advice, the environment and food production raise cross-sectoral issues including
the impact of food choices and future food security. The NHMRC and other Commonwealth
agencies are jointly considering these.
For more than 75 years the Australian Government, primarily through NHMRC and Australian
Government health departments, has provided nutrition advice to the public through food and
nutrition policies, dietary guidelines and national food selection guides.
NHMRC and all involved in developing these Guidelines are proud and privileged to have the
responsibility to continue this important public service.
Professor Warwick Anderson
Chief Executive Officer
National Health & Medical Research Council
DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 2