WHICH FOODS SHOULD I EAT AND HOW MUCH ?

The Australian Dietary Guidelines provide up-to-date advice about the amount and kinds of foods and drinks that we need regularly, for health and well-being.

By providing your child with the recommended amounts from the Five Food Groups and limiting the foods that are high in saturated fat, added sugars and added salt, they will get enough of the nutrients essential for good health, growth and development. They may have a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers. Your child may also feel better, look better, enjoy life more and live longer!

The amount of food your child will need from the

Five Food Groups depends on their age, gender, height, weight and physical activity levels. For example, a 3-year-old boy requires 1 serve of fruit a day, but an 11-year-old boy needs 2 serves of fruit a day.

A 9-year-old girl needs 4 serves of grain (cereal) foods a day, and a 14-year-old girl needs 7 serves a day. Children who are taller, more physically active or

in the higher end of their age band (and not overweight or obese) may be able to have additional serves of the Five Food Groups or unsaturated spreads and oils or discretionary choices. 

HOW MUCH IS A SERVE?

It's helpful to get to know the recommended serving sizes and serves per day so that your child eats and drinks the right amount of the nutritious foods they need for health - as shown in the tables above. We've given you the serve size in grams too, so you can weigh foods to get an idea of what a serve looks like.

The 'serve size' is a set amount that doesn't change. It is used along with the 'serves per day', to work out the total amount of food required from each of the Five Food Groups. 'Portion size' is the amount your child actually eats and this will depend on what their energy needs are. Some children's portion sizes are smaller than the 'serve size' and some are larger. Children may eat smaller amounts more often if they choose.

HOW MANY SERVES A DAY?

Children rarely eat exactly the same way each day and it is common to have a little more on some days than others.

However, on average, the total of their portion sizes should end up being similar to the number of serves they need each day.

If your child eats portions that are smaller than the 'serve size' they will need to eat from the Food Groups more often. If your child's portion size is larger than the 'serve size', then they will need to eat from the Food Groups less often.