Vegetarians and vegans are Australia's healthiest eaters.

Aussies following plant-based diets scored highest in nation's largest ever diet study.

Australia’s vegetarians and vegans have the best quality diet among the population, according to the country’s largest ever diet study, the CSIRO Healthy Diet Score 2016.¹  Surveying 86,500 Australians, it compared the eating habits of the typical adult with those who follow special diets, such as low-carb and low-fat. ‘Those avoiding meat or animal products (vegetarians or vegans) had the highest Diet Score,’ the CSIRO reports.² 

Photo by O. Magni from Pexels

In general, Australia’s eating habits were labelled a ‘shocker.’³  The country consumes too much saturated fat, sugar and salt, and too little fruit and vegetables.  These dietary choices drive ‘the growing rates of obesity and lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and a third of all cancers.’⁴ 

Plant-based diets combat this trend.  Australia’s health and nutrition authorities have recognised this major benefit of vegetarian and vegan diets:

• The official Australian Dietary Guidelines associates plant-based diets with lower ‘all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, particularly among older adults.’⁵  Additionally, it regards well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets as ‘healthy and nutritionally adequate’ and ‘appropriate for individuals during all stages of the lifecycle.’⁶

• The government’s online health service advisory, Healthdirect Australia, also affirms that vegetarian and vegan diets ‘can meet nutritional needs’ and ‘help reduce risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some types of cancer.’⁷

When it comes to health and wellbeing, a plant-based diet ranks among the best decisions Australians can make.

1. Hendrie, G., Baird, D., Golley, S., & Noakes, M. (2016, September). CSIRO Healthy Diet Score 2016. https://www.totalwellbeingdiet.com/media/2127/2016-csiro-healthy-diet-score.pdf

2. Hendrie, G., Baird, D., Golley, S., & Noakes, M. (2016, September). CSIRO Healthy Diet Score 2016. https://www.totalwellbeingdiet.com/media/2127/2016-csiro-healthy-diet-score.pdf.  See p. 36.

3. CSIRO. (2016, 26 September) C’mon Aussie. Your diet’s a shocker. https://www.csiro.au/en/news/news-releases/2016/cmon-aussie-your-diets-a-shocker

4. CSIRO. (2016, 26 September) C’mon Aussie. Your diet’s a shocker. https://www.csiro.au/en/news/news-releases/2016/cmon-aussie-your-diets-a-shocker

5. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2013). Australian Dietary Guidelines: providing the scientific evidence for healthier Australian diets. https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/n55_australian_dietary_guidelines.pdf.  See p. 1.

6. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2013). Australian Dietary Guidelines: providing the scientific evidence for healthier Australian diets. https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/n55_australian_dietary_guidelines.pdf.  See p. 35.

7. Healthdirect Australia. (2019, December). Vegetarian and vegan diets. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/vegetarian-and-vegan-diets