Guidelines Dietary - Eat For Health

IntroductionWhy the Guidelines matterThere are many ways for Australians to achieve dietary patterns that promote health and wellbeing and reduce therisk of chronic disease. Diet is arguably the single most important behavioural risk factor that can be improved tohave a significant impact on health. 1,2 As the quality and quantity of foods and drinks consumed has a significantimpact on the health and wellbeing of individuals, society and the environment, better nutrition has hugepotential to improve individual and public health and decrease healthcare costs. Optimum nutrition is essentialfor the normal growth and physical and cognitive development of infants and children. In all Australians, nutritioncontributes significantly to healthy weight, quality of life and wellbeing, resistance to infection, and protectionagainst chronic disease and premature death.Suboptimal nutrition is associated with ill health. Many diet-related chronic diseases such as cardiovasculardisease, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer are major causes of death and disability among Australians. 3More than one-third of all premature deaths in Australia are the result of chronic diseases that could havebeen prevented. 3 Many of these are mediated by overweight and obesity. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes isincreasing and is expected to become Australia’s leading cause of disease burden by 2023. Cancer is Australia’sleading broad cause of disease burden (19%), followed by CVD (16%). 3 The most recent available estimate forthe total cost of poor nutrition was more than $5 billion per year, based on 1990 costings. 4 Given that the cost ofobesity alone was estimated to be $8.283 billion per year in 2008, 5 the current cost of poor nutrition in Australiais now likely to greatly exceed the 1990 estimates.Most of the burden of disease due to poor nutrition in Australia is associated with excess intake of energy-denseand relatively nutrient-poor foods high in energy, saturated fat, added or refined sugars or salt, and/or inadequateintake of nutrient-dense foods, including vegetables, fruit and wholegrain cereals. 2,6 Deficiency in some nutrientssuch as iodine, folate, 7 iron and vitamin D is also a concern for some Australians. 8,9Overconsumption of some foods and drinks, leading to excess energy intake and consequent increases inadiposity, is now a key public health problem for Australia. 6,10 The prevalence of overweight and obesity hasincreased dramatically over the past 30 years and is now around 60% in adults 11 and 25% in children andadolescents. 11,12These Guidelines summarise the evidence underlying food, diet and health relationships that improve publichealth outcomes.Dietary patterns consistent with the Guidelines improve healthRecent reviews of the evidence on food and health confirm that dietary patterns consistent with the Guidelinesare positively associated with indicators of health and wellbeing.Two systematic reviews found that higher dietary quality was consistently associated with a 10–20% reductionin morbidity. For example, there is evidence of a probable association between a Mediterranean dietary patternand reduced mortality (Grade B; Evidence Report, Section 20.1). 13-15 Previous studies have also indicated inverseassociations between plant-based or vegetarian diets and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, particularlyamong older adults. 16-18 The effects of dietary quality tended to be greater for men than women, with commondeterminants being age, education and socioeconomic status. 19,20There is likely to be great variation in the interpretation and implementation of dietary guidelines. Nevertheless,when a wide range of eating patterns was assessed for compliance with different guidelines using a variety ofqualitative tools, the assessment suggested an association between adherence to national dietary guidelines andrecommendations, and reduced morbidity and mortality (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 20.3). 19,20IntroductionNational Health and Medical Research Council1