Diet and Nutrition

Before McDonald’s, Red Rooster or Dominos people were hunter-gatherers who foraged for uncultivated plants and hunted wild animals. The traditional diet was high in carbohydrates, protein and nutrients, and low in fat and sugars. It seems that diet-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, were fairly uncommon. However, today’s modern diets are heavily focused on the fast and furious and tend to be high in fat and sugar, but low in carbohydrate, fibre and nutritional value. The rate of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is now exceptionally high in the population.

Traditional diet or bush food

The typical traditional diet was low kilojoule and high in carbohydrate, fibre, protein and nutrients. Since many people were hunter-gatherers, the daily diet varied according to the type of plants and animals available in the particular location and season. By necessity, they had an extensive knowledge of plants, animals, the land and the effects of the weather and time of year. Popular energy-dense foods, or foods that contained plenty of kilojoules per gram, included animal meat and offal and honey,

Modern-day diet and nutrition

The typical diet today is high kilojoule, low in nutritional value, and high in fats and

Sugar. There is no need to hunt and forage for food, so physical activity levels are generally low. Surveys show that urban-dwelling people eat more fast food and salt than people living in outback communities due to the range of fresh foods available, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables.

Diet-related diseases

Diet has been linked to a number of diseases and disorders among the Australian

population, including:

• Cardiovascular disease

• Diabetes

• Overweight and obesity

• High blood pressure

• Some cancers

• Circulatory diseases