Australians Eat 32 Kgs Of Chocolate And Thrice More Junk Food Than Recommended

Australians tend to consume three times more junk food than recommended, says a new report, according to bbc.

They eat it as a daily routine, not just as an "indulgence", said the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) report. Studying 40,000 Australians showed that on average, people consumed 32kg of chocolate a year.

They totaled 61 out of 100 in the CSIRO's Healthy Diet Score Survey. "The scores were fairly unflattering across all respondents," said CSIRO research director Prof Manny Noakes. "If we were handing out report cards for diet quality Australia would only get a C," said Prof Noakes.

Hence, obesity is the "second largest" cause of worry regarding illness in Australia.

The guidelines recommend that adults should eat "two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables every day, with half a cup of cooked vegetables, one cup of salad vegetables, one medium piece of fruit or one cup of diced fruit representing one serve. Fruit juices do not count," according to theguardian.

Junk foods should be consumed only occasionally, including chocolate, cake and fast food. However, almost two in three Australian adults and one in four children are too obese, according to the government's Institute of Health and Welfare.

They should consume less junk food and smaller portions too, said Prof Noakes.

"[Junk] food is no longer just an indulgence - it's become mainstream and Australians are eating it each and every day," she said. "They also need to be more mindful of every bite they take by eating more slowly and consciously."

Every person's diet was evaluated on the parameters of variety, frequency and quantity of the fundamental food groups, and also the individual's characteristics, such as age and gender.