4727.0.55.005 - Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Nutrition Results - Food and Nutrients, 2012-13  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 20/03/2015  First Issue
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This document was added or updated on 26/03/2015.

MEDIA RELEASE
20 March 2015
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra Time)
39/2015
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people eat less fruit and veg

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people eat less fruit and vegetables than non-Indigenous people, according to a report released today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Diets high in fruit and vegetables can help protect against chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ate 110 grams of fruit and 125 grams of vegetables a day," said Wendy Davis from the ABS. "This is 24 per cent less fruit (or half a small banana) and 20 per cent less vegetables (or half a carrot) than non-Indigenous people,

"This adds up to nearly 25 kilograms less fruit and vegetables over a year."

These results are from the first ABS survey to collect detailed nutrition information from over 4000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which forms the nutrition component of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in urban areas ate 25 per cent or 23 grams more fruit and 30 per cent or 30 grams more vegetables than those living in remote areas.

Other results from the survey showed one in eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over reporting that they were on a diet. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dieters were more likely to be on a diet to control diabetes compared with non-Indigenous dieters, who were more likely to be on a low fat or cholesterol diet.

Further, in the previous 12 months, over one in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were living in a household that had run out of food and had not been able to buy more, six times the number for non-Indigenous people.

More information is available in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Nutrition Results - Food and Nutrients (cat. no. 4727.0.55.005 ) available for free download from the ABS website https://www.abs.gov.au

Media notes:

  • When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
  • Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070.