VCE Food Studies (Year 12) · Unit 3 — Food Choice, Health and Wellbeing · 16m read

Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Guide to Healthy Eating

The national guidelines are the yardstick for every diet evaluation in Food Studies. Learn them well and you can assess any meal plan.

Learning objective: Apply the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating to evaluate diets.

By the end of this lesson you can:

• I can state the five Australian Dietary Guidelines.
• I can use the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
• I can evaluate a day's eating.

The guidelines are a compass, not a cage. Dietary guidelines point you in a healthy direction while leaving room for culture, taste and occasional treats.

Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Guide to Healthy Eating

AUSTRALIAN DIETARY GUIDELINES (summary):
1. Be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious food and drinks to meet energy needs.
2. Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five food groups every day, and drink plenty of water.
3. Limit foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol.
4. Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding.
5. Care for your food; prepare and store it safely.

AUSTRALIAN GUIDE TO HEALTHY EATING (five food groups):
• Vegetables and legumes/beans.
• Fruit.
• Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain/high fibre.
• Lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts, seeds, legumes.
• Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat.
• Plus water; discretionary foods only sometimes and in small amounts.

| Guideline (summary) | Key message |
|---|---|
| 1 | Be active; choose amounts of nutritious food to meet energy needs |
| 2 | Enjoy a wide variety from the five food groups |
| 3 | Limit saturated fat, added salt, added sugar, alcohol |
| 4 | Encourage breastfeeding |
| 5 | Prepare and store food safely |

Key ideas at a glance

• Five food groups: Veg, fruit, grains, protein, dairy.
• Discretionary foods occasionally: Sometimes foods.
• Water as main drink: Limit sugary drinks.
• Apply to scenarios: Meal analysis.

Worked example (Medium)

Evaluate: breakfast — white toast with butter; lunch — meat pie and soft drink; dinner — pasta with tomato sauce.

1. Lacking. Vegetables, fruit, dairy and wholegrains are low.
2. Excess. Saturated fat, salt and added sugar (pie, soft drink).
3. Recommendation. Swap to wholegrain bread, add fruit, water instead of soft drink, add vegetables to pasta.

Answer: Low in core food groups and high in discretionary foods; specific swaps improve it.

Worked example (Medium)

Improve a lunch of a white bread ham sandwich and soft drink.

1. Grains. Swap to wholegrain.
2. Veg. Add salad.
3. Drink. Water instead of soft drink.
4. Fruit. Add an apple.

Answer: Wholegrain, salad, water and fruit align with guidelines.

Common mistakes

• Vague evaluations Use the guidelines specifically. Fix: Quote the guideline or food group.

Practice questions

1. Which is a discretionary food?

   1. Apple
   2. Soft drink
   3. Wholegrain bread
   4. Yoghurt

   (1 marks)

2. How many core food groups are in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating?

   (2 marks)

3. How many food groups are in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating?

   1. 3
   2. 5
   3. 7
   4. 10

   (1 marks)

4. Explain why discretionary foods should be limited.

   (2 marks)

Summary

• Five Australian Dietary Guidelines.
• Five food groups plus water.
• Limit discretionary foods.
• Variety from five groups; limit discretionary foods.