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

3.2.4.4 Older peopleTaste perception decreases with age and can be a factor in decreased food intake andmalnutrition. For a chronically ill older person who has high blood pressure, clinicians need toweigh up the benefit of the addition of salt to food to improve flavour (with improved intake andquality of life, and reduced risk of malnutrition) against the risks of hypertension and itsmanagement. For chronically ill older people who do not have high blood pressure, there is noreason to reduce salt as there are no additional health benefits to be gained and maintaining foodintake is a priority.3.3 Limit intake of foods and drinks containingadded sugars3.3.1 Setting the sceneSugars are carbohydrates, for example fructose, glucose, lactose or sucrose. When sugars occurnaturally in foods such as fruit, vegetables and dairy products they are referred to as intrinsicsugars. However, the major source of sugar in the Australian diet is sucrose from sugar canewhich is added to foods and is termed an extrinsic sugar. Sucrose is widely used in processedfoods and drinks as a sweetener and also plays a role as a flavour enhancer and preservative.Sugars provide a readily absorbed source of energy, but added sugars can increase the energycontent of the diet while diluting its nutrient density. Sugars are a major factor in dental caries anddiets high in added sugars are also associated with some adverse health outcomes. Sugarsweeteneddrinks (fruit juice drinks, soft drinks, flavoured mineral waters and sports drinks) arethe largest source of sugars in the Australian diet, with consumption highest in adolescents andchildren [44]. New evidence emphasises the relevance of sugar-sweetened drinks to thedevelopment of excess weight (see below).Dental caries remains a significant public health problem in Australia. In 2007–8, $6.1 billion wasspent on dental services in Australia, representing 6.2% of all health expenditure [572]. In severecases, dental caries can cause loss of teeth and pain that may reduce dietary intake andcompromise nutritional status.There are particular concerns about the recent increase in consumption of added sugars fromsweetened drinks (see Chapter 4).DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 87