Based, presumably, on the most up-to-date scientific evidence, this dietary guide offers a number of thought-provoking tips. Originally represented in the form of a circle, it has also been reinterpreted in the form of a pyramid.
It may not be a matter of general knowledge, but Australia is one of the countries that has most promoted healthy lifestyle habits among its citizens. In addition, and in the field of nutrition, it has a long tradition of publishing and directing official recommendations. In fact, and as can be seen in the introduction to its latest guidelines ( a document of more than 220 pages ), the Australian government is proud to have made this commitment for 75 years.
It is not surprising that they are proud of this issue; other countries, such as ours, would like to have that track record and even that attitude. Thus, in February 2013, they published the guide that is currently in force, which contains two main characteristics: summarizing all their messages in 5 general tips and using the circle format (not a pyramid, not a plate) as a graphic icon (you may be interested in consulting information on the general approach of the food guides ).
The content of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating
The Australian guide is aimed at any healthy citizen over the age of 2. However, the extensive dossier also includes specific information for population subgroups that deserve greater attention, such as pregnant women, infants, and the elderly, groups in which there are significant differences regarding recommendations for some nutrients compared to the general population.
As I said, there are five general messages around which all the recommendations in the guide revolve:
The importance of weight
To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and choose amounts of food and drink that meet your energy needs.
Regarding the daily use of certain foods
Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five groups every day:
- Lots of vegetables, of different types and colors, and legumes/beans and fruit.
- Foods based on mainly whole grains such as breads, the cereals themselves consumed as the main ingredient, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa, and barley.
- Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes.
- Milk, yogurt, cheese and/or their alternatives, mostly low in fat, highlighting that for children under 2 years of age, it is better not to provide skimmed dairy products.
- Drink plenty of water.
Regarding the avoidance of certain foods
It is important to limit the intake of foods containing saturated fats, added salt, added sugars, and alcohol.
Promoting breastfeeding
As already mentioned, this topic is one of the five chosen as “main” and therefore does not stop encouraging, supporting, and promoting breastfeeding. Advice and recommendations are included to support mothers and fathers, as well as indications on how to introduce solid foods.
Be responsible for what you eat and its safety
This is an important innovation in relation to other guides that barely touch on these issues and therefore, in this guide it is advised, literally, to take care of one’s diet, referring to being an active part of acquiring and preparing food, as well as being attentive when it has to be preserved in relation to food hygiene and safety.
The content of the Australian guide: food groups
In the icon, the circle that accompanies this guide, we can distinguish 5 well-defined sectors, each corresponding to a food group. The size of each of the sectors would indicate the quantity, and hence the importance, of each of these groups in the diet. Of these, two are larger and equal to each other (1/3 of the total circle for both cereals and vegetables), and the other three, smaller, are equally assigned the surface of the remaining third of the circle (fruits, dairy products and foods naturally source of protein).
Cereal-based or cereal-based foods
1/3 of the circle is allocated to this section, with special emphasis on the importance of these options being made among those options considered “integral.”
Vegetables and greens
This food group is given the same weight as cereals (1/3 of the circle) and it is simply recommended to make extensive use of them, including as much variety as possible.
Fruit
Its surface area is 1/9 of the circle and it is recommended to consume it whole, that is, leaving aside fruit juices.
Dairy
Another 1/9 in general for dairy products, which emphasize their calcium content and therefore recommend consuming at least 2 servings per day from this food group, mainly skimmed or low-fat options.
Foods with a significant protein content
Finally, the remaining 1/9 is used for foods such as lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts, and legumes. In order not to overeat meat (even lean meat) and to give visibility to the other options “with protein”), the guide recommends not exceeding 455 grams of meat per week, that is, an average of no more than 65 grams of this option per day.
Other important messages: ultra-processed foods and oils
Regarding ultra-processed products, located outside the circle, the Australian guide recommends consuming them rarely and in small quantities. Regarding vegetable oils, this guide also sends the message of using them in small quantities.
Australian Healthy Eating Guide criticised
The greatest advantage of this guide, a priori, is that it has based all its recommendations on the highest level of evidence available for each of its sections and recommendations. Despite this, there are issues that attract a lot of attention and that are not fully understood. For example:
- Daily consumption of dairy products makes it seem practically indispensable, reaching the recommendations in certain population groups of “at least” 4 servings/day, which seems to me to be a significant exaggeration.
- There are messages that, no matter how well established they are in the general consciousness, are difficult to understand or, what is worse, difficult for all citizens to understand in the same way. For example, recommending ultra-processed foods (or vegetable oils) “rarely” and in “small quantities” is extremely imprecise and each person can interpret frequencies and quantities very differently.
- Unlike the (argued) trend of giving more weight to the group of fresh plant foods (vegetables and greens), as much as half, this guide leaves it at, to be precise, four ninths (1/3 + 1/9), that is, less than half. However, in the pyramidal adaptation (see next section) they are given that visibility to the detriment of foods from cereals.
- While it is a guide that is not very specific in some of its messages (for ultra-processed foods and vegetable oils) or even in the case of water consumption (drink “lots” of water), it is also an excessively quantitative and specific guide for other recommendations, for example, when it talks about the presence of lean meats or dairy portions.
What is the Australian food pyramid?
Created in 2014 and revised in 2021, the “Nutrition Australia” association offered a pyramidal version of the official guide whose icon is the circle already seen. Despite stating on its website that the pyramid is based on the official Australian guides of 2013, this format offers various messages that have little, or rather nothing to do with the original:
Image Credit: The Australian Nutrition Foundation Inc[/caption]
- The presence of vegetables, fruits, and greens occupies the entire base.
- The cereals have much less visibility than in the circle.
- The image of dairy products is clearly reduced in relation, it is assumed, to what the official guide conveys.
- Ultra-processed foods are nowhere to be found.
Personally, I think this representation is much more appropriate as a message that needs to be conveyed to citizens in developed countries today and is much more in line with other, more up-to-date guides.