Volume 54 Number 4 December 1997
| Development of a simulated Australian
diet for adults which may have use as a research tool
Karen Z. Walker, Anne Birkett, Zhong Xian Lu, Gwyn Jones, Kerin O’Dea and Jane G. Muir Abstract A simulated Australian diet, suitable for use in experimental dietary studies, has been developed based on the most commonly consumed foods and the mean macronutrient profile obtained from the Victorian Nutrition Survey of 1990. Seven different daily menus were constructed. Details of the portions of food comprising each daily intake were entered into a computer spreadsheet and translated into nutrient content using data from Australian food composition tables. This enabled convenient manipulation of the food quantities in each daily menu to meet the energy and nutrient requirements of individual subjects whilst retaining the desired macronutrient profile of the overall diet. The nutrient density of the diet, when calculated from Australian food composition tables, corresponded closely with the 1990 survey data for nutrient intake. Food homogenates for each of the seven days were analysed and the nutrient contents per 10MJ (calculated) available energy were as follows: 91±3g protein, 76± 3g fat, 169g sugar and 111 ± 6g starch. The diet also contained 26.9±1.7g/10MJ non-starch polysaccharides and 8.6±1.8g/10MJ resistant starch. Some discrepancies between the analysed and calculated nutrient content of the homogenate were noted, which could reflect variability in the macronutrient content of manufactured food items, gradual cumulative change (for example, supply of leaner meat) in the composition of the Australian food supply and/or differences stemming from the analytical protocol. The simulated diet is presented as a tool which may have utility in research and which, if validated by collaborative studies, could be used as a baseline ‘Australian diet’. (Aust J Nutr Diet 1997;54:190–197). |