More Australians are eating enough lean meat and alternative foods
More people met their recommended serves of lean meat and alternative foods in 2023 (20.6 per cent) than in 2011–12 (14.7 per cent), according to new data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Suraksha Maharaj, ABS head of health and disability insights, said: ‘Today’s release shows that 24.0 per cent of males met the lean meat and alternative foods recommendation from the Australian Dietary Guidelines compared to 17.1 per cent of females in 2023’.
‘Nearly two thirds, or 64 per cent, of lean meat and alternatives consumption was from eating lean red meats and poultry, with the remaining intake coming from sources like eggs, nuts and seeds, fish and seafood, and legumes and beans.’
Around 1 in 4 people met the recommendations for grains and cereals (27.8 per cent) and fruit (23.1 per cent).
‘A quarter, or 23.9 per cent, of grains and cereals consumed came from wholegrain or high fibre varieties, and more than half, or 58.2 per cent, of fruit serves came from fresh, frozen or canned fruit. These are the preferred sources recommended in the guidelines,’ said Ms Maharaj.
‘We also found that 7.2 per cent of people consumed enough serves of dairy and alternatives, and 4.3 per cent of people met the vegetables recommendation.’
Find more insights about people’s consumption of the five food groups from today’s release.
Media notes
- Estimates in this release are based on modelled long-term (usual) food consumption in the population aged 2 years and over. See methodology for more information.
- The Australian Dietary Guidelines (the Guidelines) provide evidence-based guidance on the amounts and types of foods and dietary patterns required for optimal health and wellbeing.
- Consumption of non-discretionary foods and beverages only is used to compare to the Guidelines.
- The proportion of people who met the Guidelines is estimated by comparing the usual consumption of foods and beverages from a food group to the relevant recommended minimum number of serves. See the Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study: Concepts, Sources and Methods for more information.
- Lean meat and alternatives refers to the lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans food group.
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