How were the Australian dietary guidelines developed?

NHMRC revised the Australian dietary guidelines with advice from experts on the Dietary guidelines working committee and funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

NHMRC recognises the need for dietary advice to be based on the best available scientific evidence. Over 55,000 scientific journal articles were retrieved by a team of nutrition and medical experts.  Their analysis of this material was added to some of the evidence that is still current in the 2003 version of the dietary guidelines. This research translation activity, where a variety of evidence is turned into dietary advice, reflects a commitment to best practice standards in health guideline development.

You can find more information about the evidence used in the revision of the Australian dietary guidelines below.

Who did NHMRC talk to in developing the Australian dietary guidelines?

In doing this complex work NHMRC consulted with experts in food, nutrition and health around Australia and other parts of the world on the factors influencing dietary choice.

It was also important to involve members of the public in this work. NHMRC ensured that the advisory committee included representation of consumer issues and choices, and involved consumers through three separate consumer focus testing activities. There were also two public consultation periods which allowed for further consumer input and comment.

NHMRC was also interested in hearing from the food industry, government departments, and health professionals about their views on healthy eating and the Australian dietary guidelines.

Public consultation submissions

Public consultation reports

What information was used for the Australian dietary guidelines?

The guidelines were developed using the following sources of scientific information:

  1. The previous 2003 dietary guidelines for Australians series;
  2. The Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand 2006, which identify daily nutrient requirements;
  3. The report Modelling system to inform the revision of the Australian guide to healthy eating 2011, which details the serve sizes and minimum number of serves required to meet nutritional needs;
  4. The report A review of the evidence to address targeted questions to inform the revision of the Australian dietary guidelines 2011, which is a review of the evidence on the links between foods/nutrients and health outcomes;
  5. A review Nutritional requirements and dietary advice targeted for pregnant and breastfeeding women 2013; and
  6. Other key authoritative reports, such as the World cancer research fund report.

Where are these reports