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The Victorian Food
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NUTRITION FOR HEALTH
A diet which provides a right mix of nutrients is essential to good health. However, healthy eating is more than just the right balance of nutrients and food components. Eating is essentially a social activity, reflecting cultural, family and personal preferences. A sufficient variety of high quality foods must be accessible to allow healthy choices to be made, and enjoyed.
Australia is a major food producing country, with an abundance of nutritious foods, more than half of which are exported. The basic food supply in Australia is adequate to meet the nutritional needs of the population, but this by no means guarantees them a healthy diet.
In Australia, the major diet-related health problems are the result of overconsumption, particularly of energy and fat, and eating too little of fibre-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables and cereals. Many of the lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease and obesity, both in adults and children, arise from the contribution of poor diet in combination with other risk factors.
For example, moderate, regular physical activity is also a major contributor to reduced risk of illness. So the food choices people make are one of several important factors contributing to health outcomes. What is a healthy diet for each individual will be influenced by the extent to which they adopt other behaviours which, together, make for a healthy lifestyle.
There are also certain subgroups of the population who are at risk of under nutrition and disorders resulting from deficiencies of specific nutrients, such as calcium, iron and folic acid. Inadequate nutrition can affect growth, physical and mental development, and health throughout life.
Groups most affected by under nutrition include people from low income households, homeless people, older people. Children, adolescents and young women, some vegetarians, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. An increasing number of younger women are also at risk of both physical and mental health problems arising from poor body image and eating disorders.
Nutrition goal: To increase the proportion of the Victorian population consuming a diet which is nutritionally appropriate and consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
The two closely related key issues that need to be addressed are (1) Over-nutrition in adults and children, and (2) Under-nutrition as it effects at-risk groups in the community
The Priorities for Action are:
- To support public initiatives which promote a healthy lifestyle and increase the proportion of Victorians within the healthy weight range, by promoting healthy eating and regular, moderate physical activity;
- To support initiatives which promote the consumption of grains, vegetables and fruits;
- To encourage initiatives which increase dietary fibre consumption and moderate the intake of fat in line with Australian Dietary Guidelines;
- To ensure that effective and integrated systems for monitoring the nutritional status of Victorians are developed and maintained, and for evaluation of the effectiveness of nutrition programs.
