PROMOTING HEALTHY EATING

Key Knowledge 3.2.5 The role of the Australian Government in promoting healthy

eating, through:•The information provided by nutrition surveys and how it is

used•The purpose of Nutrient Reference Values to guide dietary

intake• The Australian Guide to Health Eating and the Dietary

Guidelines• Legislation developed by Food Standards Australia and

New Zealand (FSANZ)

WHY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS A ROLE IN PROMOTING HEALTH EATING

Major role in making Australia a healthier nation – promoting health eating is a preventative measure for future health of Australians (reducing the prevalence of diet-related diseases, especially in vulnerable groups i.e. Indigenous Australians)

Decrease the financial burden of healthcare costs -This will reduce both direct and indirect costs associated with nutrition related illnesses/diseases (NHPAs)

Improve the health and well-being of population groups, especially the nutritional status of vulnerable groups (indigenous Australians, Rural & Remote, low SES Australians)

Educating and providing accurate information regarding health issues – individuals can make informed decisions

ROLE OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT IN PROMOTING HEALTHY EATING:

Governments have a key role in educating and informing the community about healthy eating and nutrition

How Do Governments Promote healthy eating? Provision of policy related to healthy eating

practises Programs and health promotion initiatives - educate Research/Nutrition Surveys – collection of data Development and publication of strategies/guidelines and

resources – i.e. NRV, Dietary Guidelines & The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating to improve the health status of Australians (educate)

Regulating food through legislation in order to ensure a safe and quality-controlled food supply – food labelling laws

FOOD CONSUMPTION & NUTRITION SURVEYS

Aim of food consumption surveys is to monitor and assess food consumption and related behaviour of a population.

Survey data can be collected by Food diary and records, food list recalls, food accounts & telephone surveys

• Why: Relevant and current information is essential for food regulators and health professionals to understand and address the health, nutritional status and wellbeing of the Australian population

• Information is used to develop food & nutrition related programs & public policy development

WHAT INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY NUTRITION SURVEYS?

Assessment of dietary intakes Dietary trends and food consumption patterns Nutritional status of various population groups Diet-related diseases/conditions (incidence &

prevalence of these diseases /conditions)

USES OF NUTRITION AND FOOD CONSUMPTION SURVEYS

Overall objective – is to provide food and nutrient data to assist with the implementation of Australia’s ‘Food and Nutrition Policy’

Development of policies for food assistance Directions for food regulators ie: food labelling and

food safety programs Nutrition education programs – new Highlight population groups that may have special

requirements or who are suffering particular nutritional inadequacies => develop targeted strategies/polices specifically to target certain population groups

USES OF NUTRITION SURVEY’S CONT...

Enables the revision of National Health Goals and Targets

Benchmarks are able to be set for future measurements and comparisons of changes over time

Assess progress of achievement towards improving health eating

Evaluation and conclusions about the effectiveness of current health eating promotion strategies can be made – ie. Implementation of dietary guidelines / Review

Provision of data to inform government policy Increased knowledge about consumers for the food

industry – development of new products, fortified foods

LIMITATIONS Data is a ‘snap shot’ - only relates to a 24-hour

period and is not reflective of overall food consumption.

Inaccuracies can easily occur due to people not correctly recalling the type and amounts of food consumed either deliberately or not remembering

Limited representation of certain groups within the population

Occur infrequently so many not truly represent current trends in food and changes in food consumption habits

RECENT SURVEYS National Children’s Nutrition and Physical

Activity Survey (Feb – August 2007 and results reported 2008) First survey for children conducted in over 10 years First to include dietary intake and exercise Conducted by CSIRO & University of SA Jointly funded by government and industry through the

Australian Food and Grocery Council Phone Survey of 4000 young people aged 5 – 16 yrs

across Australia (24 hour food recall, 48 hour activity recall 9+ and pedometer record – 5-8yrs) Repeated 1-3 weeks later

NATIONAL CHILDREN’S NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SURVEY (2007)

Your Task – Referring to page 241 -242 Select 3 findings and for each finding

State two ways that the governments or the private sector might use these findings

What health outcomes may occur if such patterns continue

What costs might occur if the finding is not addressed

List 3 reasons why the Government would conduct a survey such as the National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey

NATIONAL CHILDREN’S NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SURVEY (2007) Kids Eat, Kids Play Survey Results Page 241

Why was this survey was conducted? Need for data on children’s nutritional intake, physical

activity and weight status for monitoring purposes and to inform policy and decision-making in this area.

• Results enabled governments and health professionals:

Understand and analysis changes in children’s eating and activity patterns.

Target strategies that address areas of concern Sets benchmarks for strategies to be measured against Build appropriate and informed policy Provides evidence base for development and evaluation of government policies

NUTRIENT REFERENCE VALUES (NRVS)

Published in 2005 Joint recommendations for nutrient intakes for

Australia and New Zealand Amounts of nutrients required on an average

daily basis for adequate physiological function and prevention of deficiency disease or chronic disease prevention

Multiple levels of nutrients Additional information re: levels of intake that may

reduce the risk of chronic diseases and information in dietary pattern required to reduce the risk of chronic disease such as heart disease and obesity

FROM VCAA… NRV form the basis of all nutritional models and tools used

within Australia (e.g. AGHE, Dietary Guidelines)

Focus - the purpose of the NRV to guide dietary intake

But, we do not want students to understand the differences between all the differing measures, eg RDI, EAR, UL, AMDR, SDT

What you need to know: What are the NRV and what are they used for? Who uses the NRV? How are the NRV related to other nutritional tools such as

those referred to in the subsequent points of the key knowledge, including the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, Dietary Guidelines and food legislation such as food labelling

NUTRIENT REFERENCE VALUES: THEIR PURPOSE IN GUIDING HEALTHY EATING. THE FOUR MAIN VALUES INCLUDE:

a) EAR: an average intake sufficient to meet the needs of half of the population

b) RDI: a generous allowance that will meet the needs of about 98% of the population

c) AI: a minimum amount that will prevent a deficiency

d) UL: an upper level amount, more that which might create concerns related to an excess

PURPOSE OF NRV Assess the likelihood of inadequate intake in individuals or

groups of people (Dietitians – Health Professionals) Use in research and data compilation - Government Used for large scale catering or meal planning i.e.

hospitals, aged-care facilities, Armed Services- Consumers Developing food choice guides (Dietary Guidelines) -Gov Food labelling laws to help make informed decisions – Gov Setting food policy and legislation - Government Educate individuals about the types and amounts of foods

required to satisfy their nutritional requirements -HP Food manufactures – useful when developing modified

foods (fortification of food i.e. folic acid in bread) or products that are a sole source of nutrition such as home meal replacements

LIMITATIONSRecommendations are generally for healthy

people – may not be suitable for some people

Not suitable for pre-term infants or for people with specific genetic profiles

Do not take into account: Additional needs of individuals on Medication i.e. Warfin Those whose lifestyle may affect nutrient absorption or use such

as people who smoke or have a high intake of alcohol.

• Difficult to understand and interpret due to the complexity and breadth of information without a nutrition background

• Designed for use by nutritional professionals

1. Using the data in this table, compare the intake of the eight-year-old female (with a high activity level) with the RDIs. Identify nutrients that the child is deficient in, and those that she is having an excess of.

AUSTRALIAN GUIDE TO HEALTHY EATING (AGHE) = DEVELOPED IN 1998 (REVISED 2013)

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating is a (government designed) food selection model that was in response to the increasing number of Australians suffering from diet-related diseases.

It incorporates 5 main food groups, acknowledges the consumption of ‘sometimes’ foods eaten in small amounts, suggesting food that should be used in small amounts and encourages the consumption of water.

It is based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines converts scientific knowledge of food consumption and the NRV’s for health into a

practical guide for food selection.

Purpose - Nutrition Guide to provide information to individuals make healthy food choices regarding the appropriate foods to choose to eat each day and increase the health of Australians by helping individuals to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to choose a healthy diet.

Australian guide to healthy eating website

Visual representation of the recommended proportion of the diet to choose from each group

Reflects multicultural nature of Australia A tool for health professionals and educators to

promote healthy eating and good nutrition, planning menus, patient/client counselling, promotional messages and public health programs

Includes recommended daily serves and information about what is a ‘serve’ of each food group. (This is important as one persons interpretation of what constitutes a sample size maybe different to another persons)

Provides information about the amounts and kinds of food that an individual needs to eat daily in order to obtain enough of the nutrients essential for good health. It is accompanied by extra information: table,

sample serves

Your Task”

Summarise each section Describe The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating–

what information is provided? Who and when was the model developed? Why was the model produced? Who is the model aimed at? List limitations of the model.

Read p 249 – Applying the AGHE

DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AUSTRALIANS

Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults (2003) –2013

Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia (no longer valid)

Guidelines seek to promote the potential benefits of healthy eating to reduce the risk of diet-related disease and improve the community’s health and well-being throughout the lifespan

Potential economic benefit of an effective nutrition-based preventative strategy is enormous (current cost $6 billion a year)

Australian dietary guidelines website

LIMITATIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN GUIDE TO HEALTH EATING AND THE DIETARY GUIDELINES

Limited application to those population groups that have increased or different nutritional needs ie pregnant women.

Assume a certain level of nutritional knowledge of certain terms ie ‘wide variety’, ‘low fat’. ‘eat plenty’

Do not support disadvantaged groups such as low-income earners who may have difficulty affording a wide variety of foods or people from multicultural backgrounds who may find it hard to access their cultural foods.

Your Task:

Describe the Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults – what information is provided?

Who and when was the model developed? Why was the model produced? Who are they aimed at? List limitations of the guidelines Summarise the significance of each guideline