Objective: Excessive consumption of discretionary foods/beverages in the Australian population has been identified, increasing the risk of obesity and chronic disease. The present study aimed to examine the associations between demographic, anthropometric and dietary factors and the consumption of discretionary foods, discretionary beverages and discretionary foods/beverages combined.Design: Discretionary food/beverage consumption reported in two 24 h recalls was analysed, stratified by gender, age, socio-economic status, country of birth, BMI, waist circumference, and fruit and vegetable intakes.Setting: 2011–12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey.Subjects: Australian adults (n 7873) aged 19 years or above.Results: Mean discretionary food and beverage consumption was 631 g (28 % by weight from foods; 72 % from beverages), providing 2721 kJ of energy intake (72 % from foods; 28 % from beverages). Total discretionary food/beverage consumption was higher in younger age groups (P<0·001), those in lower socio-economic categories (P<0·001), those born in Australia (P<0·001), those with higher BMI (P<0·001) and those with lower fruit (P<0·001) or vegetable intake (P<0·001). Discretionary beverage consumption (β=6·6, P<0·001) was more strongly associated with BMI than discretionary food consumption (β=0·5, P=0·01).Conclusions: Total discretionary food/beverage consumption as well as discretionary foods alone and discretionary beverages alone were associated with BMI in Australian adults. In addition, high intakes were associated with younger age, lower socio-economic status, and lower consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Diet quality indices have been shown to predict cardiovascular disease, cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, obesity and all-cause mortality. This study aimed to determine the socio-demographics of Australian adults with poor diet quality. Diet quality was assessed for participants of the 2011–2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey aged 18 years or above (n = 9435), with the validated 11-component Healthy Eating Index for Australians (HEIFA-2013), based on the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. Differences in scores by demographics (ANOVA) and regression models for associations between the HEIFA-2013 score and demographic characteristics were conducted. The mean (SD) HEIFA-2013 score was 45.5 (14.7) out of 100 due to poor intakes of vegetables, fruit, grains, dairy and fat and high intakes of added sugar, sodium and discretionary foods. Lower mean HEIFA-2013 scores (SD) were found for males 43.3 (14.7), young-adults 41.6 (14.2) obese 44.1 (14.3), smokers 40.0 (14.2), low socio-economic status 43.7 (14.9) and Australian country-of-birth 44.2 (14.6) (p < 0.05). The overall diet quality of the Australian population is poor and targeted interventions for young-adults, males, obese and those with lower socio-economic status are recommended.

Background: Water consumption as a vital component of the human diet is under-researched in dietary surveys and nutrition studies. Aim: To assess total water and fluid intakes and examine demographic, anthropometric, and dietary factors associated with water consumption in the Australian population. Methods: Dietary intake data from the 2011 to 2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey were used. Usual water, fluid and food and nutrient intakes were estimated from two days of dietary recalls. Total water includes plain drinking water and moisture from all food and beverage sources; total fluids include plain drinking water and other beverages, but not food moisture. Results: The mean (SD) daily total water intakes for children and adolescents aged 2–18 years were 1.7 (0.6) L for males and 1.5 (0.4) L for females, and for adults aged 19 years and over were 2.6 (0.9) L for males and 2.3 (0.7) L for females. The majority of the population failed to meet the Adequate Intake (AI) values for total water intake (82%) and total fluids intake (78%) with the elderly at highest risk (90%–95%). The contributions of plain drinking water, other beverages and food moisture to total water intake were 44%, 27%, and 29%, respectively, among children and adolescents, and 37%, 37% and 25% among adults. The main sources of other beverages were full-fat plain milk and regular soft drinks for children and adolescents, and tea, coffee, and alcoholic drinks for adults. For adults, higher total water intake was associated with lower percent energy from fat, saturated fat, and free sugars, lower sodium and energy-dense nutrient poor food intakes but higher dietary fibre, fruit, vegetable, caffeine, and alcohol intakes. No associations were found between total water consumption and body mass index (BMI) for adults and BMI z-score for children and adolescents. Conclusion: Reported water consumption was below recommendations. Higher water intakes were suggestive of better diet quality.

With the increased consumption of mixed dishes, the need for more precise quantitative data on individual food components is becoming more important. This paper aims to examine the consumption of meat, poultry, and fish before and after disaggregation of mixed dishes, and its contribution to energy and nutrient intakes in a representative sample of Australians. This study utilised a 24-h recall of 12,153 people aged two years and over participating in the 2011–12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. Consumption of meat/poultry/fish was examined before and after disaggregation of mixed dishes where all meat products and mixed dishes were separated into individual food components. Comparison between these two methods was undertaken for consumption data and contribution to energy and nutrient intakes, reported by meat type. Disaggregation of mixed dishes resulted in lower estimated intakes of red meat (9%), poultry (25%), and fish (18%) but higher estimates of processed meat (17%). Meat/poultry/fish contributed approximately 25% of total energy intake, 49% protein, 29% saturated fat, 26% iron, and 38% of zinc intake after disaggregation, which was significantly higher than their contributions reflected in survey data containing mixed dishes. Per-capita consumption of all meat/poultry/fish was 118 g/day for children and 162 g/day for adults, with chicken and beef being the highest contributors. These findings provide a detailed picture of meat/poultry/fish consumption in Australia, and emphasise the need for population studies to disaggregate reported food information to provide a more precise estimate of consumption.

Misreporting of energy intake is common and can contribute to biased estimates of the relationship between diet and disease. Energy intake misreporting is poorly understood in pregnancy and there is limited research assessing characteristics of women who misreport energy intake or changes in misreporting of energy intake across pregnancy. An observational study in n = 945 overweight or obese pregnant women receiving standard antenatal care who participated in the LIMIT randomised trial. Diet, physical activity, psychological factors, body image satisfaction and dieting behaviour were assessed at trial entry (10–20 weeks gestation) and 36 weeks gestation. Energy misreporting status was assessed through the ratio of daily energy intake over basal metabolic rate. Logistic regression analyses were conducted with the dependent variable of under reporting of energy intake at study entry or 36 weeks in separate analysis. At study entry and 36 weeks, women were classified as under reporters (38 vs 49.4%), adequate reporters (59.7 vs 49.8%) or over reporters of energy intake (2.3 vs 0.8%) respectively. The prevalence of under reporting energy intake at 36 weeks was higher than at study entry (early pregnancy). Body mass index (BMI) at study entry and 36 weeks and socioeconomic status, dieting behaviour and risk of depression at 36 weeks were independent predictors of under reporting of energy intake. Under reporting of energy intake was present in over a third of overweight and obese pregnant women and was higher in late compared to early pregnancy. Characteristics such as BMI, socioeconomic status, past dieting behaviour and risk of depression may aid in identifying women who either require support in accurate recording of food intake or attention for improving diet quality. Results were unable to distinguish whether under reporting reflects misreporting or a true restriction of dietary intake. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12607000161426 , registered 9/3/2007.

The purpose of the study was to examine temporal changes in meat/poultry/fish consumption patterns between 1995 and 2011–2012 in the Australian population. Meat/poultry/fish consumption from all food sources, including recipes, was analysed by gender, age group, and socio-economic status using 24-h recall data from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (n = 13,858) and the 2011–2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (n = 12,153). The overall proportion of people consuming meat/poultry/fish remained stable (91.7% versus 91.3%, p = 0.55), but a shift in the type of meat consumed was observed. Red meat, including beef and lamb, was consumed by fewer people over the time period (from 56% to 49%), whereas poultry consumption increased (from 29% to 38%). Amounts of all meat/poultry/fish consumed were reportedly higher in 2011–2012 compared with 1995. This resulted in similar (red meat, and processed meat) or slightly higher (poultry, and fish) per-capita intakes in 2011–2012. The magnitude of change of consumption varied between children and adults, and by gender. Monitoring trends in consumption is particularly relevant to policy makers, researchers and other health professionals for the formulation of dietary recommendations and estimation of potential health outcomes.