Australians only get a C for our diet.

The recent Healthy Diet Score Survey has a top rating of 100 points if the diet meets all nutritional requirements and is well balanced with a good water intake.

Unfortunately Australia only scored 61 points, with some specific areas across the country scoring even lower results.

The survey is conducted by CSIRO and is scientifically validated against the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Over 40000 people were surveyed. It evaluated the following for each person;

• Food variety
• Food frequency
• Quantity of each food eaten
• The person’s age and gender

This year’s result is unacceptable, especially when it found that “junk food” consumption is three times the recommended daily limit and that we each eat around 32 kg of chocolate a year.

Professor Manny Noakes, CSIRO Research Director for Nutrition and Health and the co-author of the ‘CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet’, said; “The scores were fairly unflattering across all respondents. If we were handing out report cards for diet quality – Australia would only get a C. While many people scored highly in categories such as water intake and the variety of foods consumed, there is certainly lots of room for improvement in other areas.”

With many of the Quick Serve businesses increasingly selling large combo type meals, the survey result raises the question of whether consumers are demanding these high kilojoule intake foods, or simply purchasing them because they are readily available.

Professor Noakes said; “What we’re finding is people are having larger portions of junk food, more often. This type of food is no longer just an indulgence, its become mainstream and Australians are eating it each and every day. In order to improve your diet quality, people need to cut back on the consumption of junk food, and start to focus on eating smaller portion. They also need to be more mindful of every bite they take by eating more slowly and consciously.”

Rachelle Williams, The Green Food Safety Coach.