Fruit is disappearing from Australian diets, sparking a health warning from the national science agency.
A new CSIRO study found Australians’ eating habits were on a downward spiral and on a path to fall short of government 2030 health targets.
Senior CSIRO Research Scientist Gilly Hendrie said the study predicted the consumption of discretionary foods would surge and fruit intake would decline over the next five years.
Dr Hendrie said fruit consumption would drop by nearly 10 percent, with vegetable intake remaining the same, but well below recommended levels.
She said discretionary food consumption, that of ultra processed foods and sugary drinks, would jump by 18 percent by 2030.
“Young adults (aged 18-30) are the only age group showing some positive trends, yet still consume excessive amounts of discretionary foods.”
Dr Hendrie said the research also indicated some concerning trends for older Australians, with those over 71 showing the steepest projected decline in fruit consumption, with a 14.7 percent drop by 2030.
She said using predictive modelling techniques, CSIRO researchers analysed nine years of data from over 275,000 Australian adults to forecast future dietary trends and compare against the national targets.
“Predictive modelling gives us a powerful early warning system.
“Rather than waiting to see the impact of poor dietary habits, we can now identify concerning trends and intervene before they become major public health issues.”
She said the findings came as Australia aimed to achieve nutrition targets of:
- Two servings of fruit per day.
- Five servings of vegetables per day.
- Reducing discretionary foods to less than 20 percent of total energy intake.
“The targets are part of Australia’s National Preventive Health Strategy (2021-2030), which identifies poor diet as a key risk factor for chronic diseases, as well as accounting for significant healthcare costs and reduced quality of life.
Dr Hendrie said the gap between the current dietary trajectory and national health targets was widening.
“We have five years to get back on track with our diets and reverse these concerning trends.”
Read the full study: Fruit, vegetables and discretionary food intake in Australian adults: Past trends and predicted progress towards population preventive health targets for 2030.
