© Goodacre, Slattery, Upton 2007 Understanding Australia’s health This area of study includes:...

© Goodacre, Slattery, Upton 2007

Understanding Australia’s health

This area of study includes:– Measuring the health status of Australians using life

expectancy, disease burden and mortality statistics– Factors that affect the health of individuals and how health

can vary amongst different groups within the population– Nutrients needed for optimal health and their food sources– Using RDI, BMI and consumption and nutrition surveys to

measure the nutrition status of Australians– Nutrient intake and its influence on the incidence of

diet-related diseases in Australia


Measuring the health status of Australians

• Life expectancy• Mortality• Burden of disease• HALE• DALYs• Infant mortality rate• Prevalence• Incidence

Do you know the definitions of these terms used to measure health?


Changes in Australia’s health status over time

Health status• Life expectancy has

increased• Rates of heart disease have

decreased• Road crashes have

decreased• Poisonings and injuries in

children have decreased• Infectious disease rates

have decreased

Reasons for improvements• Improved medical

technology• Health promotion strategies• Better nutritional knowledge

and wider food choices• Increased education on

health issues• Immunisation programs


Factors affecting the health of Australians and different

groups within the population

• Biomedical factors (e.g. high blood pressure)• Lifestyle and behaviour (e.g. physical activity level)• Environmental factors (e.g. ozone depletion, quality housing)• Genetic factors (e.g. predisposition for disease)• Knowledge, attitudes and belief (e.g. knowledge regarding the

effects of smoking on health)

Even though Australia is essentially a healthy country, the population’s health is affected by factors known as the determinants of health:

Can you give two more examples of influences from each of the determinants?


Significant contributors to the burden of disease in Australia

These include:• Cancers, including lung, colorectal, breast, prostate, cervical and stomach• Cardiovascular disease, including stroke and ischaemic heart disease• Poisonings and injuries, including road trauma, work-related injuries, drug-

related poisonings, falls, violence-related injuries and suicide• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease• Diabetes• Mental health disorders, including depression and dementia

The prevalence and incidence of disease burden changes for different lifespan stages. Can you link the examples above with the different stages of the lifespan? Can you give more examples for each of the stages of the lifespan?


Groups within the population and their health

• Common causes of death and illness in Australia include heart disease, cancer, diabetes and asthma. Some groups that exist within the Australian population have different rates of death and illness than the total population.

• Groups within the population with inequalitiesin health status include: – Indigenous populations– Males and females– Populations living in rural and remote areas– Populations of a low socioeconomic status


Discussion questions1. Can you identify ways in which the

health status of each of the population groups indicated differs from the rest of the population of Australia?

2. Discuss reasons why the people within the different population groups experience these differences in health status.

3. In what way does your lifestyle, behaviour and environment affect your health?


Nutrients needed for health and their food sources

• There are six essential nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water

• Functions that nutrients perform include:– Energy production

– Growth, repair and replacement of body cells and tissues

– Regulation of daily body processes

Give examples of specific nutrients involved in each of the

functions listed above.


Nutrients are needed in different quantities

throughout the lifespan.

Needs differ according to growth patterns, level of activity and lifestyle-related stresses such as suffering illness or disease.


Food sources of different nutrients

Food groups provide certain nutrients in

noteworthy quantities, including:• Milk and milk products (calcium, protein, fats,

vitamin A, Vitamin D, phosphorus)• Meat, poultry, fish and eggs (protein, iron, zinc,

fats, iodine)• Fruit (vitamin C, B group vitamins, potassium• Vegetables (carbohydrates, vitamin A, vitamin C,

iron, vitamin E)• Breads and cereals (carbohydrates, B group

vitamins, iron)


Measuring nutritional status

• RDI – recommended dietary intakes– The amount of essential nutrients that are considered

adequate to meet the needs of healthy people

• BMI – body mass index– A formula used to assess body weight in relation to height

BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m2)A BMI below 20 = underweight; 20–24 = healthy weight; 25–29 = overweight

30+ = obese

• Food consumption and nutrition surveys– Aim to monitor and assess food consumption and related behaviour

within the Australian population over a period of time


Discussion questions

1. Why is it important to eat a wide range of different foods every day?

2. Consider your own food intake.Are all the main food groups represented? Are there any nutrients you are not getting enough of?

3. What do the acronyms RDI and BMI stand for?


Nutrient intake and diet-related diseases in Australia

• Diet-related diseases are conditions that can be linked to imbalances in an individual’s diet

• Inadequate or inappropriate intake of certain nutrients can cause the onset of particular illnesses such as:obesity cardiovascular diseasediabetes osteoporosiscancer (colorectal) dental decayiron-deficiency anaemia folate-deficiency anemia


Nutrition as a risk or protective factor for disease

• Risk nutritional factors that can lead to diet-related diseases include:– high intake of saturated fats– low intake of fruits and vegetables– low intake of fibre– high intake of sodium– low intake of iron, folate, calcium

• Protective nutritional factors include:– high fibre intake– adequate intake of vitamins such as A, C and folate, and minerals

such as iron and calcium– low fat intake, especially saturated fats– low sodium intake

Can you identify the disease that a person may be at risk of with the examplesof risk nutritional factors listed above?


Cost of diet-related illnesses• The high incidence of diet-related illnesses in

Australia has consequences for both individuals and the community. These can include:– Direct costs (e.g. financial costs, such as medication, hospital

care and government spending on the healthcare system)– Indirect costs (e.g. quality of life costs, such as the inability to

attend to family duties, and reduced productivity, such as being unable to attend work)


Discussion questions

1. Why is there so much concern about the prevalence of diet-related diseases in Australia?

2. Discuss other possible costs to individuals and the community of each of the diseases identified.

© Goodacre, Slattery, Upton 2007 Understanding Australia’s health This area of study includes:...

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