GRAIN (CEREAL)

Grain (cereal) foods include products such as bread, breakfast cereals, pasta and tortilla which are mostly made from wheat, oats, rice, rye, barley, millet, quinoa and corn. Eating grain foods, mostly wholegrain or high fibre, can help protect against heart disease, type 2-diabetes and excessive weight gain and may help reduce risk of some cancers.¹

	How much is a serve of grain (cereal) foods?* A standard serve is (500 kJ) or: 1 slice (40 g) bread ½ cup (75-120 g) cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley, buckwheat, semolina, polenta, bulgur or quinoa ¼ cup (30 g) muesli 3 (35 g) crispbreads *Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or higher cereal fibre varieties. Source: National Health and Medical Research Council1

CONSUMPTION OF GRAIN (CEREAL) FOODS

In 2012-13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 2 years and over consumed an average 4.1 serves of grain (cereal) foods from non-discretionary sources per day, with males consuming 4.6 serves and females 3.7 serves.

Among males, the average number of serves consumed peaked at 6.2 serves among 12-13 year olds, with a gradual drop off in consumption in the older age groups. The average consumption of grains by females also peaked at 12-13 years (4.6 serves), although the average consumption remained relatively constant across age groups.

(a) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
(b) Based on Day 1. See Glossary for definition.
(c) From non-discretionary sources.
Source: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, 2012-13.

The average number of serves per day consumed by males 4-13 years and females aged 4-11 years was equal to or greater than the minimum ADG recommendations.² However, the average intake for females 14-18 years (3.4 serves) was less than half the recommended 7 serves for that group.

Grain (cereal): Recommended number of serves per day and average serves consumed

Age group (years)	Recommended minimum(a)		Average(b)
	Serves		Serves
	Males	Females	Males	Females
2-3	4	4	3.2	3.0
4-8	4	4	4.0	4.3
9-11	5	4	5.0	4.0
12-13	6	5	6.2	4.6
14-18	7	7*	4.9	3.4
19-50	6	6*	4.8	3.6
51-70	6	4	4.0	3.6
71+	4½	3	..	..
Total(c)	..	..	4.6	3.7

(a) National Health and Medical Research Council, 2013, Australian Dietary Guidelines https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n55_australian_dietary_guidelines_130530.pdf
(b) Daily average consumption from non-discretionary sources
(c) Includes persons aged 71 years and over.
.. Not available.
*For breastfeeding women, the Guidelines recommend 9 serves of grain (cereals), while for pregnant women aged 14-18 years, 8 serves are recommended and for pregnant women aged 19-50 years and 8.5 serves are recommended
Source: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, 2012-13


HOW MUCH WAS WHOLEGRAIN OR HIGH FIBRE?

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend that at least two-thirds of grain products should be wholegrain and/or higher fibre varieties.^1,3 Wholegrain and/or higher fibre varieties contributed one-quarter (25%) of grain (cereal) foods consumed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Among adults aged 51-70 years wholegrain and/or higher fibre varieties contributed to almost one-third (31%) of grain (cereal) foods consumed, 12 percentage points more than adolescents 14-18 years (19%).

(a) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
(b) Based on Day 1. See Glossary for definition.
(c) From non-discretionary sources.
Source: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, 2012-13.

SOURCES OF GRAIN (CEREAL)

Regular breads and bread rolls (plain/unfilled/untopped varieties) were the greatest source of grain (cereal) foods, contributing to 47% of serves consumed. The second largest contributor to the grain (cereal) group was mixed dishes where cereal is a major component (20%). This group included non-discretionary foods such as pasta, noodle and rice based dishes (6.6%) and lower saturated fat⁴ pizzas (5.7%) and lower saturated fat burgers⁴ (4.9%). A further 11% came from ready to eat breakfast cereals.


BY REMOTENESS

Overall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote areas consumed more serves of grain (cereal) foods on average compared with those living in non-remote areas (4.6 serves compared with 4.0 serves per day). This is consistent with previous findings from this survey⁵ showing a higher consumption of cereal and cereal products by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote areas, mainly due a greater likelihood on any given day to consume bread (74% in remote and 69% in non-remote) and rice (23% remote and 8% non-remote).


COMPARED WITH NON-INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people consumed less serves of grain (cereal) on average than non-Indigenous people (4.1 serves compared with 4.5 serves). In addition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a lower proportion of their grain (cereal) serves contributed by wholegrain and/or high fibre foods compared with non-Indigenous people (25% and 34% respectively).

(a) Based on Day 1. See Glossary for definition.
(b) From non-discretionary sources.
Sources: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, 2012-13 and the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, 2011-12.

GRAIN (CEREAL) FROM DISCRETIONARY SOURCES

The ‘grain (cereal)’ food group in the ADG excludes all discretionary sources. For this reason, the above analysis also excludes discretionary foods which contain grains. However if discretionary sources of grain (cereal) were accounted for, they would add an extra one serve, increasing the average intake from 4.1 serves on average to 5.1. Children and adolescents aged 4-18 years had the highest average intake of discretionary grain (cereal) foods, consuming 1.3 serves on average.

Discretionary sources make up a relatively greater contribution to grain (cereal) foods intake among children and adolescents ages 2-18 years than adults 19 years and over. Among those aged 2-18 years, discretionary sources provided an additional 1.2 serves compared with 0.8 serves for adults 19 years and over.

(a) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
(b) Based on Day 1. See Glossary for definition.
Source: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, 2012-13.

Types of discretionary food sources contributing to grain (cereals) group

The most common type of grains consumed from discretionary sources was from the cereal based products and dishes group (59%). This includes foods such as pastries (such as sausage rolls and meat pies) which made up 23% of discretionary grain (cereal) serves, while cakes, muffins, scones and cake-type desserts contributed 12% followed mixed dishes where cereal is the major ingredient (10%) and snack foods (8.4%).


ENDNOTES

1. National Health and Medical Research Council, 2013, Australian Dietary Guidelines. Canberra: Australian Government. <https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n55_australian_dietary_guidelines_130530.pdf >, Last accessed 27/10/2016

2. Although the average number of serves for males aged 4-13 and females aged 4-11 years was greater or equal to the minimum recommended, this should not be interpreted as all (or even most) children this age would meet the recommended minimum. This is because the average cannot indicate the proportion of the population who had a usual intake above or below the recommendation. See Explanatory Note 5.

3. Wholegrain products are foods that use every part of the grain (cereal).

4. Mixed dishes where cereal is a major component such as pizza, burgers and sandwiches were classified as non-discretionary where the saturated fat was less than 5 grams per 100 grams.

5. See: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Nutrition Results – Foods and Nutrients, 2012-13. (cat. no.4727.0.55.005)