Diet

Our diet (the food and beverages we consume) plays an important role in shaping our health and wellbeing. It provides our bodies with the nutrients we need for energy production, growth and maintaining health.

An imbalanced diet that is deficient or excessive in certain nutrients and components can increase the risk of developing several health conditions, including coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, some forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, dental caries and nutritional anaemias. It can also lead to overweight and obesity, which itself is a risk factor for many health conditions. For more information, see Overweight and obesity.

Our dietary behaviours and patterns are influenced by many factors. The food system is how our food is grown, processed, transported, marketed, sold and consumed (Commonwealth of Australia 2022). A healthy and equitable food system plays a key role in promoting individual and population health and is crucial for the availability, affordability and accessibility of nutritious foods.

What should Australians eat?

The Australian Dietary Guidelines (the Guidelines) (NHMRC 2013a) provide advice on healthy eating habits to promote overall health and wellbeing, reduce the risk of diet related diseases and protect against chronic conditions. The Guidelines recommend Australians eat a wide variety of nutritious foods from the 5 food groups every day, which include:

• plenty of vegetables of different types and colours, legumes/beans and fruit
• grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high fibre varieties, such as breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley
• lean meats and alternatives and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts, seeds and legumes/beans
• dairy, including milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives, mostly reduced fat (reduced fat milks are not suitable for children under 2)
• drink plenty of water.

Essential nutrients for good health are found in varying amounts throughout many different food groups. Variety in the diet maximises the possibility of obtaining enough of these essential nutrients. 

Discretionary foods are foods and drinks that are not needed to meet nutrient requirements and do not fit into the 5 food groups. They are high in kilojoules, saturated fat, sodium (such as salt), added sugars and alcohol (NHMRC 2013a). The Guidelines recommend that discretionary foods should be consumed occasionally and in small amounts.

The infant feeding guidelines recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed until around 6 months of age, for healthy growth and development of infants and young children. The guidelines also recommend that breastfeeding be continued until 12 months of age and beyond, 'for as long as the mother and child desire' (NHMRC 2013a). For more information, see Australia's mother and babies and the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

For more advice on the recommended daily number of serves of each food group that Australians should eat, see Australian Dietary Guidelines.

For more information on the data sources used for this report, and for a summary of the recommended servings of the 5 food groups, please see Technical notes.

Intake of fruit and vegetables

Children and adolescents

In 2022, based on self-reported daily consumption data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2022 National Health Survey (NHS), for children and adolescents aged 2−17, it was estimated that (Figure 1):

• 36% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit – an increase from 27% in 2017–18 (ABS 2018).
• 96% did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables – an increase from 94% in 2017–18 (ABS 2018).
• 96% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables – an increase from 94% in 2017–18 (ABS 2018).
• 5.8% did not usually eat any fruits and 4.5% did not usually eat any vegetables.

The proportion of children and adolescents who did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables each day increased with increasing age (ABS 2023a). Noting that the Guidelines' recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable consumption also increase in serving size as age increases (NHMRC 2013a).

When comparing children in the youngest age group (2–3 years) with adolescents in the oldest age group (14–17 years), in 2022 (Figure 1):

• 3.2% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit compared to 54%, respectively.
• 81% did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables compared to 96%, respectively.
• 81% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables compared to 97%, respectively.

There were no differences between the proportion of boys and girls aged 2–17 who did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables (Figure 1).

Adults

Most adults do not eat the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables. In 2022, based on self-reported daily consumption data from the ABS 2022, it was estimated that (Figure 2):

• 56% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit.
• 94% did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables.
• 96% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables.
• 12% did not usually eat any fruit and 1.8% did not usually eat any vegetables.

The proportions of adults who did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables decreased with increasing age (Figure 2):

• 63% of those aged 18–24 did not meet the recommended serves of fruit, compared with 41% of people aged 75 and over.
• 97% of adults aged 18–24 did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables compared with 89% of people aged 75 and over.

In 2022, men aged 18 years and over were less likely than women to meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables (Figure 2):

• 58% of men did not meet the recommended serves of fruit compared with 53% of women.
• 97% of men did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables compared with 90% of women.

Trends in fruit and vegetable intake

The proportion of adults aged 18 and over (ABS 2023c):

• who did not meet the recommended serves of fruit increased to 56% in 2022 from 49% in 2017–18. In the previous decade from 2007–08 to 2017–18, this proportion remained between 49% to 52%.
• who did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables has remained relatively stable between 2007–08 to 2022, at around 92%–94%.
• who did not meet the recommended fruit and vegetables remained stable at 96% in 2022, compared with 95% in 2017–18. In the previous decade from 2007–08 to 2017–18, this proportion remained between 95% and 96%.

Apparent consumption

The number of serves of fruit and vegetables available per person from foods purchased (apparent consumption) is less than the recommended number of serves from the Guidelines.

Compared to the average recommended serves per day, apparent daily consumption per person per day in 2023–24 was (ABS 2025a):

• 1.32 serves for fruits (daily recommendation is 2.0 serves) – a slight decrease from 1.34 serves in 2022–23
• 2.21 serves for vegetables and legumes/beans (daily recommendation is 5.0 serves) – the same as in 2022–23 (also 2.21 serves).

Over a longer time period, apparent consumption of fruit has decreased to 1.32 serves in 2023–24, from 1.42 serves in 2019–20 (ABS 2025a). For vegetables, apparent consumption has decreased to 2.21 serves in 2023–24, from 2.42 serves in 2023–24.

Compared to the previous period of 2022–23, fruits had the largest absolute decrease (down 0.9 grams per capita) in apparent consumption by weight (grams) in 2023–24, based on the 5 food groups of the Guidelines (ABS 2025a). This is followed by dairy and alternatives (down 0.6 grams per capita) and vegetables and legumes/beans (down 0.2 grams per capita) (ABS 2025a). The data relate to the amount of food purchased and does not account for wastage and spoilage which is a particular issue with these food groups.

How does intake of fruit and vegetables vary by population groups?

Remoteness area

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, across remoteness areas, the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who did not meet the recommended daily serves of fruit was (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023d):

• 56% in Major cities
• 55% in Inner regional areas
• 59% in Outer regional and remote areas.

After adjusting for age differences, the proportion of adults who did not meet the recommended daily serves of fruit did not differ significantly across remoteness areas.

The proportion of adults aged 18 and over who did not meet the recommended daily serves of vegetables, across remoteness areas, was (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023d):

• 94% in Major cities
• 91% in Inner regional areas
• 92% in Outer regional and remote areas.

After adjusting for age differences, the proportion of adults who did not meet the recommended daily serves of vegetables also did not differ significantly across remoteness areas.

In 2023–24, the apparent consumption of fruit was lower for those living in Outer regional, Remote and Very remote areas (all at 1.3 serves), compared with those living in Inner regional areas (1.4 serves) and Major cities (1.6 serves). For vegetables and legumes/beans, apparent consumption varied across remoteness areas, with the highest seen in Major cities (2.6 serves), compared with Outer regional and Remote areas (both 2.4 serves) (ABS 2026). For more information, see Geospatial dietary indicators.

Socioeconomic areas

In 2022, based on self-reported data, the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who did not meet the recommended serves of fruit was 61% in the lowest socioeconomic (most disadvantaged) areas and 53% in the highest socioeconomic (least disadvantaged) areas (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023d).

The proportion of those who did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables was 96% in the lowest socioeconomic areas and 92% in the highest socioeconomic areas (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023d).

After adjusting for age differences, more people in the lowest socioeconomic areas did not meet the recommended serves of fruit or vegetables, compared with those living in the highest socioeconomic areas, although the differences were not large (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023d).

In 2023–24, apparent consumption of fruit was the lowest for those living in the lowest socioeconomic areas (1.3 serves), compared with those living in the highest socioeconomic areas (1.8 serves). For vegetables and legumes/beans, apparent consumption was also the lowest in the lowest socioeconomic areas (2.3 serves), compare with those in the highest socioeconomic areas (3.0 serves) (ABS 2026). For more information, see Geospatial dietary indicators.

Intake of grains, meat and alternatives, dairy products and alternatives

On average, Australians of all ages generally did not eat the recommended serves of grains, meat and alternatives, and dairy products and alternatives each day (see Tables 3 and 4 in Technical notes) (AIHW 2018). These foods, in addition to fruit and vegetables, make up the 5 food groups included in the Guidelines to reduce diet related diseases. In 2011–12 (ABS 2016) (AIHW 2018):

• children, adolescents and adults in most age groups did not meet the recommended serves of grains (except for boys aged 4–11, girls aged 9–11, and women aged 71 and over). Of adults aged 19 and over, 76% of women and 67% of men did not eat the recommended serves of grains.
• adherence to the recommended serves of meat and alternatives decreased from ages 2–3 to 12–13, before increasing slightly with age, but insufficient intake remained high across all age groups. Of adults aged 19 and over, 87% of women and 79% of men did not meet the recommended serves of meat and alternatives.
• younger children were more likely to meet the recommended serves of dairy and alternatives, but this reduced substantially from age 9–13, with 90% of the population not meeting the recommended serves.

New data on the intake of grains, meats and alternatives, dairy products and alternatives from the ABS 2023 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) will become available in future releases.

For more information, see Nutrition across the life stages.

Apparent consumption

The number of serves available per person from foods purchased (apparent consumption) was less than the recommended number of serves from the Guidelines. Compared to the average recommended serves per day, apparent daily consumption per person per day in 2023–24 was (ABS 2025a):

• 3.86 serves for grains and cereals (average recommendation is 5.5 serves) – this remained the same as in 2022–23 (3.86 serves)
• 1.51 serves for dairy and alternatives (average recommendation is 3.0 serves) – this remained the same as in 2022–23 (1.51 serves)
• 1.83 serves for leans meats and alternatives (average recommendation is 2.5 serves) – an increase from 2022–23 (1.79 serves).

Over a longer time period, apparent consumption per capita has (ABS 2025a):

• decreased for grains and cereals, down to 3.86 serves in 2023–24 from 4.08 serves in 2019–20 (a 5.4% change)
• decreased for dairy and alternatives, down to 1.51 serves in 2023–24 from 1.58 serves in 2019–20 (a 4.4% change)
• remained relatively stable for lean meats and alternatives, at 1.83 serves in 2023–24 and 1.82 serves in 2019–20.

Grains and cereals

Eating mainly wholegrain or high fibre foods, rather than low fibre or highly refined foods are recommended in the Guidelines (NHMRC 2013b). Whole grain foods are more satiating than refined grains such as white flour, and they provide a wide variety of vitamins and minerals important for reducing the risk of developing some diseases such as coronary heart disease, colon cancer and diabetes (NHMRC 2013b). In 2023–24, 30.6% of apparent consumption serves of non-discretionary grains and cereal foods were wholegrain or high-fibre, which has decreased from 32.8% in 2019–20 (ABS 2025a).

In 2023-24, grains and cereals purchased in Australia consisted of the following food types (ABS 2025a):

• grains (such as rice) (41.2%)
• breads (27.4%)
• flour (16.3%)
• oats (10.6%)
• breakfast cereal flakes (4.6%).

Intake of discretionary foods, added sugars, saturated and trans fats and sodium

Australians eat too much food that is high in energy and low in nutrients (‘discretionary food’). Discretionary foods are often high in saturated fats, added sugars and sodium. 

In 2023, based on self-reported data from the latest ABS 2023 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS), discretionary foods (including discretionary drinks, such as sugar-sweetened soft drinks) accounted for (ABS 2025b):

• 35% of daily energy intake for children aged 2–17. This proportion varied by age, with the highest proportion seen in those aged 5–11 (37%) and the lowest in those aged 2–4 (27%)
• 31% of daily energy intake for adults aged 18 and over. This proportion was similar across adult age groups, ranging between 30% to 32%. 

High intake of discretionary foods is at the expense of more nutritious foods from the 5 food groups. Excess consumption of discretionary foods can contribute to exceeding the recommended intakes of saturated fats, added sugars and sodium, as well as contributing towards additional energy (kilojoules) intake (NHMRC 2013a).

Children and adolescents

Of children aged 2–17, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2023 NNPAS (Table 1):

• added sugars contributed to 7.7% of mean daily energy intake, a decrease from 11% in 2011–12.
• saturated and trans-fat contributed 13.5% of daily energy intake, remaining similar to 2011–12 (13.7%)
• average sodium intake was 2,339 mg, which is not a significant increase from 2,272 mg in 2011–12. In 2023, average sodium intake was higher in boys (2,582 mg) than girls (2,083 mg).

Table: AIHW

Note:

1. Sugars naturally present in unrefined foods such as fruit and unflavoured milk are not considered free sugar.
2. Recommendation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for free sugars.
3. Recommendation from the Nutrient Reverence Values for Australia and New Zealand (NRVs)
4. Adequate Intake is defined as the average daily intake of a nutrient estimated to meet the nutritional needs for a healthy population. Adequate Intake is used when the Recommended Dietary Intake for a nutrient cannot be determined.

Sources: ABS 2025c, NHMRC 2017, WHO 2015

Adults

Of adults aged 18 and over, in 2023, based on self-reported data from ABS 2023 NNPAS (Table 2):

• added sugars contributed to 6.9% of mean daily energy intake, a decrease from 9.1% in 2011–12
• saturated and trans-fat contributed 12.8% of daily energy intake, a slight decrease from 12.1% in 2011–12
• average daily sodium intake was 2,384 mg, a slight decrease from 2,439 mg in 2011–12. In 2023, average daily sodium intake was higher in males (2,711 mg) than females (2,070 mg).

Table: AIHW

Note:

1. Sugars naturally present in unrefined foods such as fruit and unflavoured milk are not considered free sugar.
2. Recommendation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for free sugars.
3. Recommendation from the Nutrient Reverence Values for Australia and New Zealand (NRVs)
4. The Suggested Daily Target (SDT) is the daily average intake of a nutrient that may help in the prevention of chronic disease. SDT recommends 2,000 mg/day of sodium which is also consistent with the 2012 WHO guideline for sodium consumption which recommends less than 2,000 mg/day for adults.

Sources: ABS 2025c, NHMRC 2017, WHO 2015

Sweetened beverages

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, as they can provide excess kilojoules with little nutritional value (NHMRC 2013a).

Sweetened beverages include soft drinks, fruit drinks, cordials and energy drinks. In the ABS 2023 NNPAS, sweetened beverages were categorised by the type of sweetener added to the drink:

• sugar-sweetened beverages contain added sugar
• intense-sweetened beverages contain artificial sweetener.

Data on sweetened beverage consumption in this report were derived from beverages reported by survey participants on the day before their interview. See next section for consumption of sweetened beverages in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people.

For more information on the definition and types of sweetened beverages included in the ABS analysis, see ABS 2023 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey Sweetened beverages.

Children and adolescents

Based on the ABS 2023 NNPAS, of children aged 2–17 (ABS 2025d, 2025e):

• one in 4 (25%) consumed sweetened beverages. This included 22% of children who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages and 3.9% who consumed intense-sweetened beverages.
• similar proportions of boys (26%) and girls (24%) consumed sweetened beverages. For sugar-sweetened beverages, this was 23% of boys and 22% of girls.
• the proportion who consumed sweetened beverages increased with increasing age. For sugar-sweetened beverages, consumption increased from 5.5% of children aged 2–4 to 34% of children and adolescents aged 12–17. The proportion of children and adolescents aged 12–17 who consumed sweetened beverages was higher than adults aged 30 and over. See sweetened beverages consumption in Adults.
• the average daily intake of sweetened beverages was 119 mL, comprising 101 mL of sugar-sweetened beverages and 18 mL of intense-sweetened beverages.
• on average, 9.5 grams of free sugars from sweetened beverages were consumed daily by children. This is around 2 teaspoons of sugar daily from sweetened beverages (Food Standards Australia 2019).

The proportion of children aged 2–17 who consumed sweetened beverages has decreased to 25% in 2023 from 72% in 1995 (ABS 2025d). For sugar-sweetened beverages, the proportion decreased to 22% in 2023 from 68% in 1995 (Figure 3).

Adults

Based on the ABS 2023 NNPAS, of adults aged 18 years and over (ABS 2025d, 2025e):

• three in 10 (30%) consumed sweetened beverages. This included 21% of adults who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages and 11% who consumed intense-sweetened beverages.
• more males (35%) than females (25%) consumed sweetened beverages. For sugar-sweetened beverages, this was 24% of males and 17% of females.
• the proportion of adults who consumed sweetened beverages decreased with increasing age. Those aged 18–29 were most likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages (31%), compared with those aged 65–74 (13%) and 75 and over (14%). Consumption of intense-sweetened beverages was the highest amongst those aged 30–49 (13%) and 18–29 (12%) and the lowest in those aged 75 and over (5.5%).
• the average daily intake of sweetened beverages was 168 mL, comprising 111 mL of sugar-sweetened beverages and 57 mL of intense-sweetened beverages.
• on average, 11.4 grams of free sugars from sweetened beverages were consumed daily by adults. This is around 2.5 teaspoons of sugar daily from sweetened beverages (Food Standards Australia 2019).

The proportion of adults aged 18 and over who consumed sweetened beverages has decreased to 30% in 2023 from 42% in 1995 (ABS 2025d). For sugar-sweetened beverages, the proportion decreased to 21% in 2023 from 36% in 1995. However, consumption of intense-sweetened beverages increased to 11% in 2023 from 8.5% in 1995 (Figure 3).

Apparent consumption of discretionary foods

In 2023–24, discretionary foods contributed to 38.5% of the available dietary energy per person from food purchased. This was slightly lower than the previous two 12-month periods (38.7% in 2022–23 and 38.6% in 2021–22) but was higher than in 2018–19 (38.0%) and 2019–20 (38.1%) (ABS 2025a).

In 2023–24, the top 3 major food groups contributing to discretionary food apparent consumption were (ABS 2025a):

• cereal based products (20.7%), such as sweet and savoury biscuits, cakes, muffins and pastries
• confectionary (16.2%), such as chocolates, fruit, nut and seed-bars, and muesli bars
• snack foods (9.6%), such as potato and corn snacks.

From 2018–19 to 2023–24, available dietary energy per person from discretionary foods purchased increased the most for potato snacks, such as potato crisps (increased from 4.8% to 5.4%) and chocolates and chocolate-based confectionary (increased from 9.8% to 10.4%) (ABS 2025a).

Note that apparent consumption data does not include alcoholic drinks (which is considered a discretionary food by the Guidelines).

For more information on Alcohol consumption, see Alcohol.

Apparent consumption of free sugar (including added sugar), saturated fat, and sodium

Dietary energy available per person from free sugar (that is sugar added to foods during manufacturing or cooking stages, as well as sugar naturally present in juice and honey) and saturated fat in foods purchased are both higher than the recommended dietary intake for these nutrients, in 2023–24.

In 2023–24, of dietary energy available per person from food sold (ABS 2025a):

• around 12.3% is from free sugar which exceeds the WHO recommendation of 10% (WHO 2015). Of the free sugar, 92.2% was added sugar (which are sugars added to foods during processing and preparation).
• 15.3% is from saturated fat and 0.7% came from trans fatty acids. Discretionary and non-discretionary foods each contributed around half of the available saturated fat (49.5% and 50.5% respectively).
• the amount of sodium available per person (3,067 mg per day) from foods purchased is 1.5 times higher than the recommended intake for adults (Suggested Dietary Target of 2,000mg/day).

Between 2019–20 and 2023–24, the dietary energy available per person from food sold remained similar for free sugar and saturated fat. The amount of sodium available per person has decreased, to 3,067 mg per day in 2023–24 from 3,208 mg per day in 2019–20 (ABS 2025a).

Apparent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages

Per capita consumption of intense-sweetened beverages (zero sugar) increased to 36.2% of selected sweetened beverages in 2023–24, from 29.6% in 2018–19 (ABS 2025a). This was an increase of 22%. 

In contrast, sugar-sweetened drinks (which contain added sugar) decreased to 63.8% of selected sweetened beverages in 2023–24, from 70.4% in 2018–19 – a decrease of 9.4% (ABS 2025a).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people

Intake of fruit and vegetables

Children and adolescents

In 2022–23, based on self-reported daily consumption data from the ABS 2022–23 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS), of First Nations children aged 2–17, an estimated (ABS 2024):

• 38% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit – this did not change significantly from the 35% estimated using the 2018–19 NATSIHS (ABS 2019)
• 95% did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables – this remained similar to 2018–19 (94%)
• 95% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables – this was also similar to 2018–19 (94%)
• 12% usually ate less than 1 serving of fruit daily (this includes those who did not eat any fruit) and 13% usually ate less than 1 serving of vegetables daily (this includes those who did not eat any vegetables).

There were no significant differences between the proportions of First Nations boys (96%) and girls (94%) aged 2–17 who did not meet the recommended daily serves of fruit and vegetables.

The proportion of First Nations children and adolescents who did not meet the recommended daily serves of fruit and vegetables increased with increasing age, noting that the Guidelines recommendations for daily fruit and vegetables consumption also increase in serving size as age increases (NHMRC 2013a).

When comparing children in the youngest age group (2–4 years) with adolescents in the oldest age group (15–17 years), in 2022–23 (ABS 2024):

• 8.5% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit compared to 57%, respectively
• 89% did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables compared to 97%, respectively
• 89% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables compared to 98%, respectively.

Adults

Most First Nations adults aged 18 and over did not eat the recommended daily serves of fruit and vegetables. Based on self-reported daily consumption data from the ABS 2022–23 NATSIHS (ABS 2024):

• 66% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit – this increased from the 62% estimated from the 2018–19 NATSIHS (ABS 2019)
• 95% did not meet the recommended serves of vegetables – this remained similar to 2018–19 (96%)
• 96% did not meet the recommended serves of fruit and vegetables – this did not change significantly from 2018–19 (98%)
• 28% usually ate less than 1 serve of fruit daily (this includes those who did not eat any fruit) and 8.5% usually ate less than 1 serve of vegetables daily (this includes those who did not eat any vegetables)

In 2022–23, more First Nations people aged 15 and over living in non-remote areas did not meet the recommended daily serves of fruit (67%), compared with those living in remote areas (56%). Similar proportions of people living in non-remote areas and remote areas (both 95%) did not meet the recommended daily serves of vegetables (ABS 2024).

Sweetened beverages

Based on self-reported data from the ABS 2023 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS), for First Nations children aged 2–17 (Figure 4):

• over 4 in 10 (44%) consumed sweetened beverages. This included 42% of First Nations children who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages and 4.4% who consumed intense-sweetened beverages
• consumption of sweetened beverages was the highest in children aged 12–17 (65%). This was higher than any other age group, including First Nations adults
• the median volume of sweetened drinks consumed was 375 mL
• on average, 19 grams of free sugars from sweetened beverages were consumed daily. This is around 4.5 teaspoons of sugar daily from sweetened beverages (Food Standards Australia 2019).

The proportion of First Nations children aged 2–17 who consumed sweetened beverages has decreased to 44% in 2023 from 60% in 2012–13. For sugar-sweetened beverages, the proportion decreased to 42% in 2023 from 58% in 2012–13.

Based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022–23 NATSINPAS, for First Nations adults aged 18 and over (Figure 4):

• nearly 5 in 10 (48%) consumed sweetened beverages. This included 39% of First Nations adults who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages and 13% who consumed intense-sweetened beverages
• consumption of sweetened beverages was the highest in those aged 18–29 (54%) and 30–49 (55%), compared with those aged 50 and over (34%)
• the median volume of sweetened drinks consumed was 508 mL 
• on average, 26 grams of free sugars from sweetened beverages were consumed daily. This is around 6 teaspoons of sugar daily from sweetened beverages (Food Standards Australia 2019).

The proportion of First Nations adults aged 18 and over who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages has decreased to 39% in 2023 from 45% in 2012–13. However, the proportion drinking intense-sweetened beverages has increased to 13% in 2023 from 9.4% in 2012–13.

For more information, see Sweetened drinks from the ABS 2023 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. 

What are the health impacts of dietary risks?

Burden of disease

Burden of disease is a measure of the years of healthy life lost from living with ill health or dying prematurely from disease and injury. A portion of this burden is due to modifiable risk factors. Burden of disease analysis estimates the contribution of these risk factors to this burden.

Dietary risks factors include components where adequate amounts in the diet are required to prevent disease, as well as diets where excessive consumption contributes to disease development. The 12 individual dietary risk factors were:

• a diet low in fruit, vegetables, milk, nuts and seeds, whole grains and high fibre cereals, legumes, polyunsaturated fat, and fish and seafood
• a diet high in sodium, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red and processed meats.

In 2024, dietary risk factors combined contributed to 4.8% of total disease burden, ranking as the third leading risk factor contributing to ill health and premature deaths, after overweight (including obesity) and tobacco use in Australia. Dietary risk factors combined were the fourth leading risk factor contributing to deaths (8.8% of total deaths) in 2024 (AIHW 2024).

Dietary risk factors were linked to 16 diseases and contributed to (AIHW 2024):

• 50% of coronary heart disease total burden
• 26% of bowel cancer burden
• 26% of type 2 diabetes burden
• 25% of stroke burden
• 23% oesophageal cancer burden.

In 2024, males experienced greater disease burden due to dietary risk factors (6.0%) than females (3.5%). Across the life course, males had a greater amount of disease burden due to dietary risk factors than females in all age groups (AIHW 2024).

Based on the latest available data, in 2018, total disease burden attributable to dietary risk factors was twice as high in the lowest (most disadvantaged) socioeconomic areas compared with the highest areas (least disadvantaged) (AIHW 2021).

For more information on the disease burden due to dietary risk factors, see the Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024.

Health expenditure related to dietary risk factors

Health expenditure is money spent on health goods and services. It includes money spent by all levels of governments as well as non-government entities; for example, individuals and private health insurers. Expenditure due to modifiable risk factors refers to health system spending on burden of disease health condition that can be attributed to people having a particular risk factors. It is not spending on addressing the risk factor itself (AIHW 2025). 

All dietary risk factors was the 5^th leading risk factor contributing to total attributable health spending in 2023–24, of the 20 risk factors included in the Australian Burden of Study. A total of $4.4 billion was attributed to dietary risk factors (AIHW 2025).

In 2023–24, all dietary risk factors was estimated to contribute to around (AIHW 2025):

• $1.9 billion (51%) of spending on coronary heart disease 
• $818 million (26%) of spending on type 2 diabetes mellitus 
• $563 million (28%) of spending on stroke 
• $483 million (26%) of spending on bowel cancer

For more information, see Health system spending per case of disease and for certain risk factors.

Wider determinants of health

The broad contextual factors that determine the health of a society and the individuals within it are known as the ‘wider determinants of health’. These factors include social, environmental, structural, economic, cultural, biomedical, commercial and digital environments in which we live, work, play and age. These determinants have a considerable impact on health and can influence various health behaviours through the choices available and accessible.

As such, dietary behaviour and patterns are not solely driven by individual choice but are greatly influenced by broader environments and food systems. These systems should be reliable, sustainable and equitable, and capable of providing nutritious food. Recognising these broader influences is important for creating environments that promote and support healthier food choices and overall health.

Factors that influence our dietary behaviours include:

• food environments, including the availability and affordability of healthy fresh food and the density of unhealthy food outlets
• social and cultural norms that shape food preferences
• food literacy, which is the knowledge and the skills to select and prepare healthy food
• resources for food preparation (for example, having the time, equipment and facilities)
• effective marketing techniques and product placements to promote the sale of unhealthy foods which can influence purchasing decisions
• changes in the global food systems over time, including food becoming more processed, larger portions sizes, and convenience foods being more affordable than healthier alternatives.

The National Preventive Health Strategy 2021–2030 and the National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 acknowledge that a holistic approach to addressing the wider determinants and actions across the food system are needed to better support healthy eating.

For more information, see What are determinants of health? and Social determinants of health.

Food insecurity

Food security relates to people being physically and financially able to obtain foods to meet their health and nutritional needs. ‘Food security exists when all people at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’ (FAO 2025).

Food insecurity exists ‘whenever the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire acceptable food in socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain’ (Australian Institute of Family Studies 2020). Food insecure households often rely more on energy dense and nutrient poor foods. Inadequate diet and poor nutrition from food insecurity affects physical and mental health, increases the risk of chronic disease and malnutrition, and can limit participation in education, work and community life (Gallegos 2025; Leung et al. 2022).

In 2023, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2023 NNPAS, 1 in 8 (13% or 1.3 million) Australian households experienced food insecurity, due to a lack of money for food at some time in the last 12 months prior to interviewing for the survey. This included 3.4% of households who experienced severe food insecurity (ABS 2025g).

For more information, see Social determinants of health and Food insecurity from the ABS 2023 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey.

National strategies to improve the consumption of a healthy diet

Australia’s National Preventive Health Strategy (NPHS) 2021-2030 aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians at all stages of life, through a whole-of-government approach to prevention that addresses the wider determinants of health to reduce health inequities and decrease the overall burden of disease. The NPHS strongly emphasises that preventive action must focus on the wider determinants of health to address the increasing complexity of health issues and the interconnected causes of poor health and wellbeing.

As a nutritious diet contributes to the overall health and wellbeing of Australians, and reduces the risk of poor health and disease, the NPHS has identified this as a focus area where better-coordinated effort will accelerate health gains, particularly for communities experiencing unfair disease burden (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 2021).

The National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 is a framework for action to prevent, reduce and treat overweight or obesity in Australia. It recognises that the root causes of overweight or obesity are complex and embedded in the way we live (Commonwealth of Australia 2022). To address this issue, it requires changes to systems, environments and commercial determinants that affect Australians’ opportunities to live healthy lives.

Improving access to and the consumption of a healthy diet and decreasing consumption of discretionary foods are objectives of these 2 strategies. 

There are 5 nutrition related targets, of which 4 are shared by the NPHS and the National Obesity Strategy (targets 1, and 3 to 6), and one is from the National Obesity Strategy only (target 2 only) (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 2021; Commonwealth of Australia 2022):

• Target 1: Adults, adolescents and children aged 9 and over increase their vegetable consumption to an average of 5 serves per day by 2030.
• Target 2: Adults adolescents and children aged 9 and over maintain or increase their fruit consumption to an average of 2 serves per day by 2030.
• Target 3: Reduce the proportion of children and adults’ total energy intake from discretionary foods from >30% to <20% by 2030.
• Target 4: Reduce the average population sodium intake by at least 30% by 2030.
• Target 5: Increase the proportion of adults, adolescents and children who are not exceeding the recommended intake of free sugars by 2030.
• Target 6: At least 50% of babies are exclusively breastfed until around 6 months of age by 2025.

For data and information on monitoring the progress of the targets, see National preventive health monitoring dashboard.

For more information, see the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s National Preventive Health Strategy (NPHS) 2021–2030, National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 and the AIHW’s National preventive health monitoring dashboard.

Where do I go for more information?

For more information on diet, see:

• Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024, Risk factor attributable burden
• Australia’s mothers and babies – Breastfeeding
• National preventive health monitoring dashboard
• Nutrition across the life stages

Visit Food & nutrition to see more on this topic.

Technical notes

Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Surveys

This web report uses data from the following surveys from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS):

• 2023 National Nutrition and Physical activity Survey (NNPAS)
• 2023 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS)
• 2022–23 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey
• 2022 National Health Survey
• 2011–12 Australian Health Survey
• Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuff.

The National Health Survey is a series of surveys designed to collect a range of information about the health of Australians, including:

• prevalence of long-term health conditions.
• health risk factors such as smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, alcohol consumption and exercise.
• use of health services such as consultations with health practitioners and actions people have recently taken for their health.
• demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

For more information, see National Health Survey.

The 2023 NNPAS and 2023 NATSINPAS are part of the Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study. These surveys were designed to collect information about nutritional intakes (including foods, nutrients and supplements consumed) using dietary recall and self-reported questions.

For more information, see Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study.

Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuff

The primary data source used is the aggregated scanner data (SD) provided to the ABS from major supermarkets. The aggregated data are based on information compiled from barcode scanning at the point of sale. The major supermarkets that provide data to the ABS account for an estimated 78% of Food Retail sector (that is, the total from supermarkets, grocers, convenience stores and specialty food retailers).

The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) is undertaken every six years, with the most recent survey in 2015–16. The 2015–16 HES is used to help estimate and impute the value of purchases made at stores other than the major supermarkets in the SD.

For further information, refer to the Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia methodology.

Recommended daily serves of the 5 food groups

Tables 3 and 4 summarise the recommended number of serves of vegetable and fruit, grains, meat and alternatives, and dairy and alternatives per day, by sex and different age groups.

Notes

1. Recommendation is to consume mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties.
2. Examples include lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nut and seeds, and legumes/beans.

Source: NHMRC 2013a.

Notes

1. Recommendation is to consume mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties.
2. Examples include lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nut and seeds, and legumes/beans.

Source: NHMRC 2013a.

For more information on the dietary guidelines for other food groups, see the Australian Dietary Guidelines.