The NHMRC released revised Australian Dietary Guidelines earlier this year. But adherence to dietary recommendations in Australia is poor and likely to stay that way. Australians consume inadequate ‘healthy’ foods, yet more than 35% of adults’ and 41% of children’s’ daily energy intake is derived from energy-dense nutrient-poor ‘junk’ - and the obesity epidemic continues.

While many health professionals are aware of the NHMRC dietary guidelines and increasing evidence of the strong causal relationships between diet and health outcomes, few of us eat well. This presentation examines common barriers to healthy eating among health professionals, why it can be so hard to follow dietary recommendations, what we might be able to do about it- and why we should.