Australian dietary guidelines - NHMRC draft

Drafts of the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating have been released by the NHMRC for public comment.  The Guidelines provide information for health professionals and the general population to reduce the risk of diet-related disease, encouraging healthy dietary patterns to promote and maintain the nutrition-related health and wellbeing of the Australian population.

The revised Australian Dietary Guidelines have been updated with recent scientific evidence about the relationships between food, dietary patterns and health outcomes. They are based on foods and food groups, rather than nutrients as in the 2003 edition.  The evidence base has strengthened for:

• The association between the consumption of sugar sweetened drinks and the risk of excessive weight gain 
• The health benefits of breastfeeding
• The association between the consumption of milk and decreased risk of heart disease and some cancers
• The association between the consumption of fruit and decreased risk of heart disease
• The association between the consumption of non-starchy vegetables and decreased risk of some cancers
• The association between the consumption of wholegrain cereals and decreased risk of heart disease and excessive weight gain.

Submissions are invited on the guidelines until Wednesday, 29 February, 2012.  Supporting resources and submission instructions can be found here.