FOOD POLICY AND CHRONIC DISEASE

A snapshot

There is little question that Australia is facing a chronic disease crisis.

Obesity, heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes and cancer are leading causes of preventable death; and disease accounts for approximately two thirds of the $85 billion plus expended each year on health.²

Food policy to date has failed to address the growing prevalence of these conditions. Type II diabetes has at least doubled in the last two decades², around 2.5 million Australian adults are obese, with a further 4.9 million overweight.³

While the evidence suggests that rates of overweight and obesity may be reaching a plateau, the health impacts and health service costs of their current high prevalence are yet to be experienced.

It has been estimated that the overall cost of obesity to Australian society and governments was $58.2 billion in 2008 alone. Of this, direct financial costs are estimated at $8.3 billion, and the net cost of lost wellbeing (the dollar value of the burden of disease, netting out financial costs borne by individuals) at $49.9 billion.⁴

There is clear evidence that diets high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes reduce the risk of chronic disease.^{5,6,7,8,9,10,11} There is also clear evidence that certain foods contribute to the burden of disease, including salt, processed meats and sugary drinks.^12,13,14

Key international recommendations

World Health Organisation (WHO)

According to the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health¹⁵, food recommendations should include:

• limits on energy intake from total fat, shift consumption away from saturated fat to unsaturated fat, and eliminate trans fats;
• increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, wholegrains and nuts;
• limits on the intake of free sugars; and
• limits on sodium consumption from all sources.

WORLD CANCER RESEARCH FUND GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS BODY FATNESS: Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: Be physically active as part of everyday life FOOD AND DRINKS THAT PROMOTE WEIGHT GAIN: Limit consumption of energy-dense foods Avoid sugary drinks PLANT FOODS: Eat mostly foods of plant origin ANIMAL FOODS: Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat ALCOHOLIC DRINKS: Limit alcoholic drinks PRESERVATION, PROCESSING, PREPARATION: Limit consumption of salt. Avoid mouldy cereals (grains) or mouldy pulses (legumes) DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone

World Cancer Research Fund Recommendations

The World Cancer Research Fund Expert Report¹⁶ has reviewed evidence in relation to guidelines for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis to create cancer guidelines that reflect a systematic literature review on all diet-related chronic disease. These valuable, evidence-based, integrated recommendations provide a useful guide for the development of an Australian food policy framework designed to reduce the burden of chronic disease.

Consistent with environmental sustainability

These international recommendations to reduce or manage the risk of these chronic diseases also complement the types of changes that need to occur to support greater environmental protection. Eating less red meat and more fruits and vegetables - preferably grown or produced in appropriate environments that require less external input into their production and less use of fossil fuel to transport to market - not only will achieve improvements in health, they will also complement government and industry actions to ameliorate climate change and protect the environment.

• Learn more about A Future for Food
• Download a PDF copy of the full report
• ACT NOW: Support A Future for Food