Background
Data
from the nutrition component of the survey will be directly
comparable to the 1995 National Nutrition Survey to provide an idea
of food intake trends. Results will be measured against Australia's
Nutrient Reference Values and the Australian Dietary Guidelines for
Children. Physical activity data collected in this survey will
provide a benchmark to see how many children meet the Australian
Physical Activity Guidelines introduced in 2005.
In 2005 the Federal Government announced new activity guidelines for young people, with targets of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and no more than two hours of exposure to screen-based entertainment each day.
Surprisingly, few national data exist on the energy intake and
expenditure of children. While at least 19 child nutritional surveys
have been conducted in Australia, the earliest dating from 1938, these
have been mainly small and locally-based. The only national nutrition
surveys on children were conducted in 1985 and 1995, with the only
national physical activity survey in 1985.
The background to the survey is the increasing prevalence of
paediatric overweight and obesity, with its troubling implications for
potential increases in the incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular
disease.
