Abstract
Beverages contribute significantly to dietary intake. Research exploring the impact of beverage types on nutrient intake for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is limited. A secondary analysis of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey 2012–2013 (n = 4109) was undertaken. The daily intake, percentage of consumers, and contribution to total nutrient intake was estimated for 12 beverage categories. Beverage intake contributed to 17.4% of total energy, 27.0% of total calcium, 26.3% of total vitamin C, and 46.6% of total sugar intake. The most frequently consumed beverage categories for children (aged 2 to 18 years) were water, fruit juice/drinks, soft drinks, and cordial; and for adults, water, tea, coffee and soft drinks. The primary sources of beverages with added sugar were fruit juice/drinks (for children), tea (for people living remotely), coffee (for adults in metropolitan/regional areas) and soft drinks (for everyone). Actions to modify beverage intake to improve health should maintain the positive nutrient attributes of beverage intake. This analysis of a large-scale national dietary survey provides benchmarking of beverage intake to support program and policy development to modify intake where this is determined as a priority by the community.
Highlights
Accepted: 20 January 2022Intake of all beverage types in the Australian population has been shown to contribute substantially to total energy intake (16.6% for adults) [1]
A similar analysis may be relevant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who made up 3% of the Australian population at the time of the dietary survey [2]
The proportions represented in this surveyed group differs from the proportions in the Indigenous population in Australia primarily because of intentional over-sampling of participants from remote regions
Summary
Intake of all beverage types in the Australian population has been shown to contribute substantially to total energy intake (16.6% for adults) [1]. Beverages have been shown to contribute substantially to intake of calcium (28.5%) and vitamin C (22.4%), as well as disproportionately to total sugar intake (35.8%) for Australian adults [1]. As an important component to overall nutrient intake, an in-depth evaluation of the contribution of the beverage category to total energy and nutrient intake can help to target population dietary health interventions and inform relevant policy. A similar analysis may be relevant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (respectfully referred to as Indigenous people in this publication) who made up 3% of the Australian population at the time of the dietary survey [2].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
