4724.0.55.004 - Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Females, 2004-05  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/12/2009  First Issue
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NUTRITION

Food and nutrition have long been recognised as important contributors to health. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) have recommended a minimum of two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables per day.

During 2004–05, the method of collecting nutritional data varied, depending on geography. People from non-remote areas were asked how many serves of fruit and vegetables they usually ate each day. People from remote areas were only asked whether or not they had usual servings.

Graph shows the sufficient usual daily serves of fruit and vegetables for Indigenous females living in non-remote areas, for 2004–05



Sufficient fruit consumption in non-remote areas was lower for Indigenous females (48%) than for non-Indigenous females (60%). The same pattern is seen in vegetable consumption, with one in eight (13%) Indigenous females eating recommended amounts.