A balanced diet, as recommended in the NH&MRC Dietary Guidelines series, includes consuming a variety of nutritious foods and drinks to provide appropriate levels of protective dietary components. These components include micro and macro nutrients, and avoiding excessive consumption of energy dense nutrient-poor foods including those high in salt, saturated fats and sugars.
Nutrition and chronic disease
Increasing the fruit and vegetable consumption of Queenslanders is a key public health priority. Eating sufficient daily services of fruit and vegetables is one of key nutritional indicators of chronic disease prevention. Fruit and vegetables are rich in substances including fibre, vitamins, minerals and other factors which enhance health and protect against disease.
Eating vegetables and fruits protects against a range of health problems including coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, some forms of cancer (including: colon, lung and gastrointestinal cancers), obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
What can be done to prevent it?
Poor nutrition can be prevented. Nutrition is a central feature of an integrated approach to chronic disease prevention. A broad, population approach has been adopted for Queensland nutrition strategy 'Eat Well Queensland 2002-2012'. Priority actions from this strategy include:
- Address food supply;
- Promote healthy eating;
- Increase consumption of fruit and vegetables;
- Enhance health of mothers and children;
- Achieve and maintain a healthy weight; and
- Develop infrastructure and capacity.
Fruit and Vegetable Eating Habits
The Australian Dietary Guidelines states that adults should consume five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit each day.
Percentage of sufficient serves of fruit and vegetable consumed per day, Queensland 2008:
| Males |
50.7% |
5.7% |
| Females |
58.2%
|
13.0% |
| All persons |
54.6% |
9.4% |