Notes on the data: Health risk factors

Estimated population, aged 4 to 17 years, with adequate fruit intake, 2017-18

Policy context: The 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend a minimum number of serves of fruit and vegetables each day for children and young people, depending on their age and sex, to ensure good nutrition and health [1]. The data described here are modelled estimates of fruit consumption only, as the number of survey respondents meeting the recommended guideline for the consumption of vegetables was too small to allow modelling.

In 2017-18, over seven in ten children (73.0%) aged 2 to 17 years met the guidelines for recommended daily serves of fruit, an increase from 70.1% in 2014-15. Girls were more likely than boys to meet the recommended intake (76.0% compared with 70.6%) [2]

Reference

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian Dietary Guidelines. Canberra: NHMRC. Available from: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines; last accessed 17 December 2019
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Children’s Risk Factors, National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18. Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001~2017-18~Main%20Features~Children's%20risk%20factors~120; last accessed 17 December 2019

Notes:

Small area estimates:

Data by Population Health Area, Local Government Area and Primary Health Network are available for the 2014-15 National Health Survey in the data archive.

Differences from data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS):

Data by quintile of socioeconomic disadvantage and Remoteness will differ to the extent that data extracted from Survey TableBuilder have been randomised, whereas those published by the ABS are not. In addition, rates published by the ABS for modelled estimates are generally crude rates; rates published by PHIDU are age-standardised.

Indicator detail

Adequate fruit intake meeting the 2013 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian Dietary Guidelines. The minimum number of serves recommended in the 2013 NHMRC Australian Dietary Guidelines is 1.5 serves for children aged 4 to 8 years and two for person aged 9 years and over. For more information, refer to the ABS National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18 (Cat. no. 4364.0.55.001) Glossary.

Geography: Data available by Quintile of socioeconomic disadvantage of area and Remoteness Area

Numerator: Estimated population aged 4 to 17 years who had an adequate fruit intake

Denominator: Total population aged 4 to 17 years

Detail of analysis: Indirectly age-standardised rate per 100 population (aged 18 years and over); and/or indirectly age-standardised ratio, based on the Australian standard

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on direct estimates from the 2017–18 National Health Survey, ABS Survey TableBuilder.