Never in our nation’s history have Australians had such a wide variety of dietary options. Yet the rising incidence of obesity and type 2 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 edition of the 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 evidencebased 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.
Choice of food in Australia has become more complex as we have become a more diverse society, and many Australians take into account issues such as environmental concerns or cultural priorities in making their choices.
We hope that these Guidelines act as a firm basis upon which these individual decisions may be made. 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.
