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If a person eats healthy food they are more likely to be healthy . A healthy diet includes:
Having access to healthy foods can be a challenge for some Indigenous people who live in remote locations. Food may have to be sent over long distances and is not always available and fresh foods may be expensive .
Poor nutrition is an important factor contributing to overweight and obesity, malnutrition, CVD, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay . The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines recommend that adults eat fruit and plenty of vegetables every day, selected from a wide variety of types and colours . The guidelines also recommend including reduced fat varieties of milk, yoghurts and cheeses, and to limit the intake of foods and drinks containing added salt.
The 2012-13 AATSIHS found that less than one-half of Indigenous people reported eating the recommended amount of fruit every day (42%) and only one-in-twenty people (5%) ate the recommended amount of vegetables every day . Women were more likely than men to have eaten an adequate amount of fruit (44% and 40% respectively) and vegetables (7% and 3% respectively) each day.
Levels of fruit and vegetable consumption were slightly different for Indigenous people living in remote and non-remote areas; less than half of Indigenous people living in remote areas (46%) consumed the recommended number of servings of fruit each day compared with two-in-five (41%) of people in non-remote areas. Conversely, Indigenous people living in non-remote areas were more likely than those in remote areas to consume adequate amounts of vegetables (5% compared with 3%) each day.
The AATSIHS 2012-2013 collected information on the fruit and vegetable consumption of children and found that three quarters (78%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 2-14 years were eating adequate amounts of fruit eat day, but only 16% were eating enough vegetables . Similar proportions of girls and boys were meeting the guidelines for fruit intake (81% compared with 76%) and vegetable intake (14% compared with 17% respectively). The rates of fruit and vegetable intake were similar for children in remote and non-remote areas.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health measures survey (NATSIHMS) 2012-2013 collected information on three biomarkers (measurable indicators for biological state) of nutrition - vitamin D, anaemia and iodine . It was found that: