The Australian Healthy Eating Pyramid has been updated for the first time in over fifteen years.
Nutrition Australia launched the revised pyramid on Monday, basing it on the 2013 National Dietary requirements.
Sugar and junk food have been wholly removed from the pyramid, replaced by healthy fats like Olive Oil in the ‘eat in small amounts’ section.
The ‘eat most’ section at the bottom of the pyramid has been expanded to include legumes and to emphasise the importance of vegetables and fruit.
Niche foods like tofu, quinoa and couscous have also been added to the revised food pyramid.
The new pyramid echoes concerns raised by health professionals regarding misleading online information and Australia’s increasing obesity rate.
According to the latest health figures about 65 per cent of Australian’s over the age of 18 are now classified as overweight or obese.
Nutrition Australia chief executive Lucinda Hancock told News Corp. that junk food is the leading cause of obesity in Australia.
“We want to get the message across that for most people the simplest way to eat healthier is to cut down on junk food and sugary drinks and to eat mostly from the core food groups.” Ms Hancock said.
The new pyramid is now split into five sections with vegetables and fruit still taking up the largest amount of space on the bottom layer.
Moderate amounts of grain, lean meat, poultry, pasta, eggs, nuts and seeds make up the middle tiers of the pyramid, with little space reserved for healthy fats at the very top.
For the first time, herbs and spices have been added as a recommendation to diets while butter and margarine have been removed.
Similarly, the new pyramid emphasised water and exercise and a new slogan ‘Enjoy a variety of food and be active every day!’ has been added beneath the bottom layer
