healthy eating validation

Question 1

What food and drinks are not part of the five food groups? Why should we limit consumption of these food and drinks?

Answer 1

Unsaturated spreads and oils. Discretionary choices: Soft drinks, sports drinks, alcohol, lollies, chocolate, chips, biscuits, processed meat. We should limit consumption of these food and drinks because they contain a large amount of sugar, salt, and saturated fat which can increase risk of health complications.

Question 1

Five major food groups

Answer 1

• Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties
• Vegetables and legumes/beans
• Fruit
• Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans
• Milk, yogurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat

Question 2

How many serves of vegetables are recommended for adults? What is a serve of vegetables?

Answer 2

The recommended intake of vegetables for adults is 5-6 serves per day. A standard serve of vegetables is about 75g (100-350kJ). The recommended intake of fruit for adults is at least 2 serves per day. A standard serve of vegetables is about 150g (350kJ).

Question 3

Why are fruit juices not an appropriate replacement for eating whole fruit?

Answer 3

Fruit juices provides energy (kilojoules) but most lack dietary fibre. They are acidic and frequent consumption may contribute to an increased risk of dental erosion. Dried fruit can also stick to
the teeth and increase the risk of tooth decay. For these reasons, fruit juice and dried fruit should be consumed only occasionally and in small amounts. Fruit juice should not be given to infants less than 12 months of age.

When a fruit is juiced, most of the insoluble fibre, that is naturally found in whole fruit, is removed. This creates a high concentration of the sugars (including fructose), calories, and micronutrients, making them easier and quicker to absorb, which in turn increase blood sugar levels and elevates our calorie intake.

Question 4

Why are wholemeal or wholegrain types of cereals preferred to refined type? Include an explanation of the importance of dietary fibre.

Answer 4

Wholemeal cereals are preferred to refined type because they provide more dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Dietary fibre is important in the diet as it is linked to lower cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, excessive weight gain, and some cancers. It also decreases risk of constipation.

Question 5

Breakfast cereals that are marketed to children can contain a large amount of added sugar. What other foods are a better alternative to high sugar cereals?

Answer 5

Added sugars can increase the kilojoule content of our diet and reduce our intake of important nutrients when we eat these foods in place of foods from the Five Food Groups. High or frequent intake of foods and drinks containing added sugars can lead to tooth decay in both children and adults. Recent evidence shows that intake of sugar-sweetened drinks can increase the risk of excessive weight gain in both children and adults.
Muesli toppings such as oats, fruit, dried fruit, coconut sugar, and honey, are better alternatives to high sugar cereals. Also, foods such as eggs, chia pudding, granola, fruity oatmeal, avocado toast, quinoa, fruit topped yogurt, almond butter & banana toast, and breakfast smoothies, are all much better alternatives to high sugar cereals.

Question 6

Why are processed meats considered discretionary choices?

Answer 6

Processed meats such as salami, mettwurst, bacon, and ham are classified as discretionary choices because they are high in saturated fat and/or salt. Consuming processes meat may be associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Question 7

What are discretionary choices?

Answer 7

Discretionary choices are foods that are not an essential or necessary part of healthy dietary patterns.

Question 8

Explain why vegans should take a Vitamin B12 supplement.

Answer 8

Vitamin B12 is mainly found in animal products, and vegans do not consume animal products.

Question 9

Some people have food allergies. If a person is allergic to dairy products, how do they obtain the nutrients normally supplied by the dairy group?

Answer 9

Those that cannot have, or do not want to have dairy products, choose alternative products that have calcium (a nutrient). Some products may have added calcium such as calcium-enriched soy, rice drinks. Fish with bones (such as sardines or salmon), almonds or tofu can be rich sources of calcium. Seafood (especially mussels, oysters and prawns) and many plant foods (especially seeds, grain-based foods, and green leafy vegetables) contain some calcium too.

Question 10

Why should people avoid too many drinks with sugar or alcohol?

Answer 10

Sugary drinks can damage teeth, cause people to become overweight or increase risk of diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The liver breaks down most of the alcohol you drink so that it can be removed from the body. This process creates harmful substances. Large amounts of these substances can damage liver cells and cause serious liver disease. Alcohol causes 4 out of 5 deaths from liver disease. Heavy drinking can alsoincrease your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels, both of which are major risk factors for heart attacks and strokes. Long-term alcohol misuse can weaken your immune system, making you more vulnerable to serious infections. For women who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is the safest option.

Question 11

What factors influence how much water a person should drink each day?

Answer 11

Activity levels: people who do vigorous physical activity should drink more water as they lose water through sweat and respiration. Climate: people living in hotter environments will lose more water through sweat, and therefore need to consume more water to replace it. Diet:

Question 12

What is saturated fat and why should it be limited in a healthy diet?

Answer 12

Saturated fat is a type of dietary fat. It is one of the unhealthy fats, along with trans fats. Foods containing saturated fats include butter & cream, lard & dipping, coconut & palm kernel oils, biscuits, cakes, pastries & pies, processed meats, commercial burgers, pizzas & fried foods, potato chips & crisps, sausages, untimed meats, and full cream dairy products (especially cheese).
Saturated fats increase the risk of heart disease. Too much saturated fat can cause cholesterol to build up in your arteries (affect cholesterol levels), and hence should be limited in a healthy diet. It is important to replace foods containing saturated fats with foods that contain unsaturated fats (such as either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats).

Question 13

What are unsaturated fats and what foods can they be found in?

Answer 13

Unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) are fats that stay liquid at room temperature and contain one or more double or triple bonds between the molecules. Unsaturated fats are essential for health and are less likely to clog your arteries.

Question 14

Unsaturated fats examples

Answer 14

• seeds
• nuts
• legumes/beans
• avocado
• oats
• fish
• lean grass-fed meat
• poultry
• eggs

Question 15

Polyunsaturated fats examples

Answer 15

• sunflower and safflower seeds
• soybeans
• cottonseeds
• sesame seeds
• corn and grape seeds

Question 16

Mostly monounsaturated fats

Answer 16

• canola seeds
• most nuts
• rice bran
• avocado and olives

Question 17

List some ways to reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet.

Answer 17

• Limit intake of biscuits, cakes, pastries, pies, processed meats, commercial burgers, pizza, fried foods, potato chips, crisps and other savoury snacks.
• Replace high fat foods which contain predominately saturated fats such as butter, cream, cooking margarine, coconut and palm oil with foods which contain predominately polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as oils, spreads, nut butters/pastes and avocado.
• Low fat diets are not suitable for children under the age of 2 years.

Question 18

What is added sugar? Why should a person limit their added sugar intake?

Answer 18

Added sugar is sugar that is added during the processing of food (sucrose or dextrose). This should be limited because it can lead to obesity and other health risks.

Question 19

What health condition is linked with high sodium intake? How can a person limit their sodium intake?

Answer 19

Causes high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. Limit intake of foods high in salt including processed meats like bacon, ham, corned beef, devon and fritz, high salt breakfast cereals (choose those with less than 120mg sodium/100g), crispbreads, cheese and foods such as fish or vegetables canned with added salt or in brine (salted water). Read food labels to choose lower sodium options among similar foods. Nutrition information panels tell us how much sodium is in packaged foods. Choose packaged foods with labels stating they contain ‘no added salt’ or are low or reduced in salt/sodium. Ingredient lists can also help identify if sodium or salt is added. Instead of adding salt to food during cooking or at the table, use pepper, fresh or dried herbs or spices, or lemon or garlic. Remember, a food may be high in salt even if it doesn’t taste salty. Train your tastebuds to enjoy less salty food. Cut down on added salt gradually.

Question 20

What changes should you make to your diet if you are training for a sporting event.

Answer 20

Lean meats because they are high in iron and protein.

Question 21

What is the recommended number of serves of each food group for adults? Give examples of a serving size for each food group.

Question 22

What is the BMI and how is it calculated?

Answer 22

BMI is body mass index.
Body Mass Index (BMI) = Weight (kg)/Height^2 (metres). This value can be found on a graph to determine if you are within a healthy BMI range

Question 23

Another way to measure weight related health risk is to measure waist circumference. Why is this an appropriate indicator of health risk?

Answer 23

A higher waist size shows internal fat deposits, which can coat the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas.
This increases the risk of chronic conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Question 24

The guide states that ‘weight loss diets that restrict the recommended intake of food from any of the five food groups can be dangerous’. Explain why this is the case.

Answer 24

Restricting the intake of food from any of the five food groups can be dangerous because it is essential to eat a wide variety of healthy foods and maintain a well-balanced diet. This is because, the wide range of food helps people to keep in good health and protects them against chronic disease. These sort of diets may also mean that people miss out on a beneficial mix of nutrients. Also, avoid foods from certain food groups may put a person’s body at risk for a number of nutritional deficiencies. For example, cutting carbs also means you are cutting out essential vitamins. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, containing the five food groups, is a very highly recommended guide that ensures a person is taking care of their body, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So, restricting the recommended intake of food from any of the food groups is not ideal, and is not supported.

Question 25

Why can't you use BMI for anyone under 18?

Answer 25

BMI calculations sued for adults are not a suitable measure of weight for children or adolescents. This is because BMI calculations for children and adolescents are interpreted differently from an adult. The BMI does not take into account a child’s muscle mass, or their bone density and overall composition. It can be difficult to provide healthy weight ranges for children and teens because the interpretation of BMI depends on weight, height, age, and sex. For adults, however, the interpretation of BMI is only dependent on height and weight.

Question 26

Why can't you use BMI for pregnant or nursing women?

Answer 26

During and after pregnancy, the woman’s body weight does not exactly match her weight. This is because pregnancy causes an increase in weight. This includes the weight of the baby, as well as the fat that is stored for breast milk, for when the baby is born. Because of this, the BMI cannot be used for an accurate result. Pregnancy causes an increase in health risks, so BMI cannot be used as a measure of health risk.

Question 27

Why can't you use BMI for frail and sedentary elderly people?

Answer 27

Due to the decrease in both height and weight over time, BMI is less affected. So, height and weight and BMI decrease significantly in both sexes after the age of 70. Also, the older and more frail a person gets, the more likely they are to experience multiple chronic diseases, This, as a result, can make them weaker. In addition to this, they are also more likely to lose weight, due to the loss of bone density and tissue. Because of this, BMI cannot be used as a measure of health risk.

Question 28

Why can't you use BMI for competitive/high performance athletes?

Answer 28

Muscle weighs more than fat (it is denser). Because of this, BMI will suggest muscly, athletic people contain much more fat than they really do. This is due to the fact that BMI does not take a person’s overall body composition into account. Therefore, BMI cannot be used as a measure of health risk for competitive/high performance athletes.

Question 29

People can have different body forms: ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs. How can body form affect BMI?

Answer 29

To measure a person’s BMI, their height and weight is taken into consideration. So, variations in height and weight lead to variations in BMI. This is why different body forms can affect BMI. But it is important to keep in mind that people could also possibly have the same BMI, even though they may have different body forms. For example, one person may be muscular, while the other has a large waist circumference from fat deposits. BMI would put them in the same spot, but their health is quite different. This is because BMI utilises only body weight and height and does not take into account overall body composition.

Question 30

Three different people have a BMI of 25. What other information would you need to know if you were to make a judgement about ‘being overweight’.

Answer 30

As can be understood from the answer above, another factor that needs to be taken into consideration for an accurate BMI, is a measure of body fat content. By measuring body fat content, a person’s body composition can be determined, along with their height and weight, for an accurate result. As well as this, waist circumference can also be something else that can be measured, as it is a better estimate of ‘visceral fat’.

Question 31

Why is it important to balance your level of activity with the amount and type of food you eat?

Answer 31

To maintain a constant weight, the number of calories you take in from food and beverages everyday should be equal to the number of calories you use through physical activity a normal body function. Additionally, eating smart and being active have similar effect on our health. This includes reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and some cancers and associated disabilities. Also, it prevents weight gain and/or promotes weight loss. Some studies show that BMI is positively associated with the intake of protein. Other studies shows that a high intake for carbohydrates or fat is associated with a high BMI and obesity.

Question 32

What is the recommended amount of exercise for adults, adolescents, and children respectively?

Answer 32

- Adults need to do at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week. - Children and adolescents should be physically active every day. - For children over 5 years of age, the recommendation is for at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day. - Children and adolescents should eat sufficient nutritious foods to grow and develop normally.

Question 33

What is the difference between light, moderate and vigorous activity?

Answer 33

- Light intensity activities require the least amount of effort. - Include standing and moving around in the home, workplace or community. - Moderate activities require some effort but you can still have a conversation. - For example, walking briskly, gentle swimming or social tennis. - Vigorous activities cause heavy and rapid breathing, and a higher heart rate. - Talking is difficult - Vigorous activities include jogging, aerobics and sports like football and netball.