Revision of the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines
The revised Australian Dietary Guidelines (the Guidelines) will be for people of all ages and backgrounds in the general population, including people with common diet-related risk factors such as being overweight or having high blood pressure. The revised Guidelines will not be for people who require specialised diets for treatment of disease or chronic conditions, but are aimed at preventing chronic conditions.
Scoping activities and topic prioritisation
Scoping activities included stakeholder surveys, limited literature searches and a review of international food-based dietary guidelines. A wide-ranging list of potential research topic areas were identified for consideration during this initial scoping period.
The Dietary Guidelines Expert Committee (the Expert Committee) prioritised this list of potential topics over a series of meetings. Topics were prioritised based on public health and wellbeing impact and on the likelihood that the evidence-base had changed enough since the 2013 Guidelines release to change the recommendations. Topics needed to be related to whole foods, food groups or dietary patterns.
Details on scoping activities, topic prioritisation, research question development and how topics where evidence is unlikely to have changed since the 2013 Guidelines will be considered is available in the Prioritisation Process Report.
Dietary guidance for older adults
In 2023 the Department of Health and Aged Care provided additional funding for a review of evidence on dietary guidance for older adults, defined as the general population aged 65 years and older (or 50 years and older for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples). This work will be incorporated into the revised Guidelines.
This guidance is not intended for people who require specialised diets for treatment of disease, frailty or chronic conditions, but is aimed at preventing malnutrition, falls, frailty and chronic conditions. This may include people living in residential aged care who do not require specialised diets.
Scoping for older adults
The Expert Committee identified priority research topics relevant to older adults during the prioritisation process for the broader review.
Information about scoping activities to inform guidance for older adults is in the Prioritisation Process Report for Older Australians.