DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

stipulates that ready-prepared infant foods with more than 4g of added sugars per 100g must be
labelled as ‘sweetened’ [234].
3.3.4.2 Children
Milk and water are the recommended drinks for children. Children and adolescents should limit
intake of sugar-sweetened drinks. Common sugar-sweetened drinks include soft drink, ‘sports
drinks’, ‘vitamin waters’, cordials and energy drinks. Energy drinks may also be high in caffeine (see
Chapter 2) and are not suitable for children. Sweetened flavoured milk provides nutrients but can
be high in energy-density; plain milk is preferable.
3.3.4.3 Older people
Including a moderate amount of added sugars as a flavour enhancer can increase variety and
palatability for older people and will not compromise nutrient intake if added to nutritious foods.
Sugars are also a readily-absorbed source of energy for the frail aged.
3.3.4.4 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
In remote Aboriginal communities, apparent consumption of sugars is much higher than the
Australian average while consumption of fruit and vegetables is well below the Australian average
[134]. In remote communities where apparent consumption was measured, refined sugars
contributed approximately 30% of total energy intake, with 60% of the sugars in the form of white
sugar added to foods and drinks. No data are available for urban Indigenous communities.
Historically, Aboriginal Australians had substantially fewer dental caries than non-Indigenous
people, but this trend has been reversed with the oral health of non-Indigenous children improving
and that of Aboriginal children deteriorating [603]. Aboriginal children and other Australian
children from the lowest socioeconomic groups have not had the improvement in dental health
seen in other children.
3.4 Alcoholic drinks
3.4.1 Setting the scene
For many people, an alcoholic drink is a regular and enjoyable part of meals. In terms of nutrition,
alcohol is uniquely the only substance that is both a food providing energy and a drug affecting
brain function. For these reasons advice on alcohol is included in these Guidelines.
Drinking alcohol has health, social and economic costs and benefits for both individuals and
populations. It was previously believed that people who drink small quantities of alcohol may have
DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 92