A new report shows the nation is failing when it comes to embracing a balanced diet, and even lists some of the occupations most at risk.
The CSIRO Healthy Diet Score report, released this week by Australia’s national science agency, canvassed the dietary habits of over 235,000 adults across the country between 2015-2023, with the national diet score falling well below a healthy level.
The results revealed an average diet score of 55 out of 100 – and highlighted some of the Australians most at risk from their eating habits. Construction workers were among those with the poorest diets (51/100), while retired Australians and those working in the fitness industry reported some of the healthiest eating patterns (59/100).
Dr Gilly Hendrie, CSIRO Research Scientist, and co-author of the report pointed out that although Australians are often perceived as fit and healthy, the low collective score shows that we only just meet the pass mark when it comes to adopting the national dietary recommendations.
“The score is a stark reminder of the work that needs to be done to improve our eating habits and reduce the national waistline,” Dr Hendrie said.
“It is clear that we have a long way to go. As a nation, we need to be eating better. We encourage people to take the test and improve their understanding of how their diet stacks up. It’s never too late to improve eating behaviour and overall health and wellbeing.”
The survey assessed nine areas of diet quality and estimated compliance with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
CSIRO researchers used this information to create a detailed picture of the country’s eating habits, revealing that discretionary, or junk foods were the national Achilles’ heel, with snacks proving just too tasty for many to resist.
At about 28 serves per week, the discretionary food component was the lowest scoring area of diet quality across all age and sex groups with a score of 20 out of 100. Alcohol, cakes and biscuits, chocolate and confectionery, and takeaway foods were found to be the biggest contributors.
Those working in construction and the beauty/fashion industry reported the highest discretionary food consumption, at around 45 serves per week.
The average score for vegetables was 58 out of 100, with only four out of 10 adults reporting eating three or more different vegetables at their main meal – an indicator of a healthy diet.
According to the report, the closest Australians got to meeting the Australian Dietary Guidelines was with beverages, achieving a score of 93 out of 100 – predominantly by choosing water over energy dense drinks such as soft drink or juice.
Meats and alternatives came in second with Australians registering a collective score of 78 out of 100 for compliance with the dietary guidelines.
The report also showed that while women only had a slightly better diet quality than men (56 v 53/100), their vegetable intake was markedly higher (62 vs 54/100).
“The good news is that a healthy diet can be achieved with some simple changes,” Dr Hendrie said.
“The things to keep in mind is reduce, increase, and add variety. In other words, reduce the number of discretionary foods being consumed, increase healthy foods including fruit and dairy and alternatives, and aim for variety by eating three or more different types of vegetables with your main meal.
“Improving our collective score is important to increasing our wellbeing, tackling Australia’s obesity crisis, and mitigating lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and some cancers.”
The CSIRO is calling on all Australians to take the free, online Healthy Diet Score assessment, which both evaluates diet quality and identifies individual areas of improvement.
For more information, or to take the free CSIRO Healthy Diet Score please visit: www.totalwellbeingdiet.com