Retirees and those who work in the fitness industry are among those with the healthiest diets, according to a new report from Australia's national science agency.
The surveyed more than 235,000 Australian adults online between 2015 and 2023, assessing nine factors about the food they consumed — including the quantity, quality, and variety.
They then estimated compliance with the Australian dietary guidelines to generate a score out of 100.
While the overall average rating among Australians was 55, retirees had a mean diet score of 59.2.
Personal trainers/coaches, those working in health care, research, and who were homemakers also had among the five healthiest diets.
Credit: SBS
Rounding out the bottom five were those who worked in operations/logistics, construction, restaurants/food service, and production.
"It was interesting that some occupations that we may think of as being health-orientated, like beauty and fashion, were amongst those with the lowest score, along with construction workers, those working in management, science and finance," report co-author and CSIRO research scientist Gilly Hendrie told SBS News.
"Generally, older Australians scored better than younger Australians, as well".
Just 20 per cent of those surveyed were eating enough vegetables, and only two in five reported always eating three or more types during their main meal — an indicator of a healthy diet.
Credit: SBS
Hendrie said the diets of those surveyed aligned most with the beverage recommendations in the Australian dietary guidelines, scoring 93 out of 100.
"Choosing water as a beverage of choice over sugar-sweetened beverages like soft drink and juice … was the area with the highest score," she said.
"Second to that was the amount of meat and alternatives and whole grain breads, breads and cereals. But the quality of those choices is where we have areas for improvement, so choosing lean meats and choosing whole grain breads and cereals when we do have breads and cereals."
Gilly Hendrie is the CSIRO Healthy Diet Score report's co-author. Source: Supplied / CSIRO
What role does affordability and access play in our diets?
While the CSIRO Healthy Diet Score report assessed Australians' dietary intake, it didn't examine the reasons behind why people make the food choices that they do.
Rebecca Lindberg, a research fellow at Deakin University's Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition in Victoria, said there are a variety of factors that determine people's diets — most notably .
"The Consumer Price Index shows that we've had a really rough 12 months, and for really essential products like dairy, as well as breads and cereals and fruit and veggies, Aussies have never paid more in modern history," she told SBS News.
"The proportion that households need to spend on eating a diet that's consistent with the Australian dietary guidelines is much greater. That's relative; if you're on a low income, if you're on unemployment benefits, if you're on a single parent allowance, it's costing more to eat consistent with those dietary guidelines than it is if you're on a middle income or a higher income bracket."
Lindberg said amid the cost of living crisis, food had become a "discretionary" spending area for many Australians.
"There's fixed costs, for example utilities or school fees or essential sort of services … and food is often that elastic budget item," she said.
"So at the end of the fortnight, at the end of the pay cycle, it might be one week that you have $150 to feed the family, and then the next week it might be $20 to feed the family."
While affordability was "the most important factor in determining what people eat", Lindberg said the situation was "more complex than that".
"There can be areas of regional and remote Australia, for example, where food prices are astronomical, and it can be really physically difficult to get a good tucker that you'd like for yourself and your family, and instead, it's the shelf-stable, less nutritious products that can be freighted in or that can stay on the shelves for a long time," she said.
"These are also the products that are more heavily promoted, and that's across the board in any geographic area of Australia.
"That also influences behaviour, and they're often also more likely to be on sale, or right at the end of the aisle or placed in product locations, that they're more favourable to consumers."
Lindberg said most Australians were doing the best they could to put nutritious food on the table.
"If we want to make gains in supporting people to eat healthy diets, we need to make them affordable and accessible to people, and that's the biggest barrier," she said.
Tips to improve your diet on a budget
Hendrie said making small changes can have a big difference to your overall diet.
"Three things to keep in mind to improve our diet quality is reduce, increase, and add variety," she said.
"We tend to have five to eight different types of indulgence foods every day, so just having one less and then also three different types of vegetables on your plate is a really simple way to start having a healthier diet."
For those struggling to afford fresh produce, Hendrie suggested buying frozen or canned fruits and vegetables.
"They've got the same beneficial nutrients as the fresh ones and they won't go off in the bottom drawer of the fridge," she said.
Meal planning, if you have the time, can also help you save money, Hendrie said.
"Thinking on Sunday night, 'What are we going to have for our meals this week? What do we need to have in the pantry?' That way you've got everything you need, so you're not walking to the shops or buying some takeaway on the way home for a meal, and also you've got what you need so that you don't waste."
