Draft Australian Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 3MB) - Eat For Health

2.2.6.1 Pregnant and breastfeeding womenFruit and vegetable consumption before and during pregnancy makes an important contribution tohealth outcomes for women and their children. Many women may need to increase their currentconsumption of these valuable foods as a prospective cohort study found that only about half ofpregnant women may be consuming the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables [219].Pre-prepared or pre-packaged cut fruit and vegetables should be avoided due to risk of listeriosis[130, 220].2.2.6.2 InfantsPureed and mashed vegetables, including legumes/beans, and fruit are important in the diets ofinfants from around six months of age. Choices should be varied to ensure adequate energy(kilojoule) and nutrient intake.By 12 months of age, infants should be consuming a wide variety of foods consumed by the rest ofthe family, having progressed from pureed or mashed foods to foods that are chopped into smallpieces. Care should be taken early on to choose foods of a suitable texture. Hard pieces of foods,such as some raw vegetables and nuts, should be avoided as they can cause choking. A variety oftastes and textures may be more appealing. As with all foods, some vegetables may need to beintroduced more than 10 times before being accepted [221]. Whole fruit is preferable to fruitjuice due to its higher fibre content. Fruit juice is not suitable for infants under six months and likeany acidic drink, consumption requires care to avoid dental erosion [133, 222].2.2.6.3 Children and adolescentsThe recommended quantities of vegetables and fruit intakes for children and adolescents varydepending on their age and sex [10]. To meet the dietary recommendations, children andadolescents need to approximately double their overall vegetable consumption [10] and decreaseby one third their intake of potatoes. Current fruit intakes by 2-3 year olds are close to therecommended levels but need to increase proportionately with age.A wide variety of different coloured, textured and tasting vegetables and fruit, both fresh andcooked, should be offered frequently to toddlers and pre-schoolers. Parents and carers canprovide model behaviour by consuming a wide range of vegetables and fruit.Children and adolescents should be encouraged to select a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, atmeal times and between meals. In recent years, most Australian states have improved thenutritional quality of food supplied at schools through strategies incorporating a colour-codedsystem in which vegetables, including legumes/beans, and fruit are classified ‘green’ with therecommendation that children eat plenty [223-230]. Fruit can be ‘fast food’ to help satisfyDRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 44