Fewer Australians drinking sweetened beverages

Fewer Australians are drinking sweetened beverages than a decade ago, according to new data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

James Eynstone-Hinkins, ABS head of health statistics, said: ‘Today’s data gives us a comprehensive snapshot of Australia’s nutrition, with new insights into what we’re eating, our energy intakes and the types of diets we follow.

‘For example, the proportion of people who drank sweetened beverages fell from 49.2 per cent in 1995 to 42.2 per cent in 2011–12 and then to 28.9 per cent in 2023. Nearly three in four children drank sweetened beverages in 1995. This fell to one in four children in 2023.’

Sweetened beverages are an example of ‘discretionary choices’ in our diets, which are food and drinks that are high in energy, saturated fat, salt or sugar and have low levels of essential nutrients. One third (31.3 per cent) of daily energy intake came from discretionary food and drinks in 2023, down from 35.4 per cent in 2011–12.

‘The leading foods contributing to discretionary energy came from Cereal-based mixed dishes, which includes foods like takeaway burgers and pizza. This was also the most popular food group – eaten by more than half, or 52.0 per cent, of people on a typical day. 

‘Cereal-based mixed dishes contributed to 19.6 per cent of protein intake, 16.8 per cent of carbohydrate intake, and 17.0 per cent of fat intake, more than any other food group,’ said Mr Eynstone-Hinkins.

The survey also offers insights into other factors that influence what we eat and drink. 

Over one in eight (13.2 per cent) households experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months, including 34.0 per cent of lone parent family households and 27.8 per cent of group households.

One in four (24.9 per cent) people 15 years and over were following a diet. Among people on a diet, males were most likely to follow an energy restriction diet (34.8 per cent) and females were most likely to follow a food avoidance diet (47.1 per cent).

People may avoid consuming certain foods for a wide variety of reasons. For example, 7.1 per cent of people 2 years and older avoided food because of allergies and 5.3 per cent of people 15 years and over were vegetarian or vegan.

The survey also found the daily intake of:

• free sugars made up 8.2 per cent of total energy, within the World Health Organization recommendation of less than 10 per cent
• sodium was just under 2,400 mg, equivalent to around one teaspoon of salt
• caffeine for adults increased from 158 mg in 2011–12 to 186 mg in 2023.

These results are only a taste of what is available from this survey. More information can be found from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey topic on the ABS website.