FRUIT and vegetables aren't on the menu as much as they should be for Aussie consumers.
According to the CSIRO Healthy Diet Score Survey, Australian diets aren't making the grade.
An addiction to junk food is largely to blame with the country's diet quality given a rating of 61 on a 100-point scale when assessed using the CSIRO Healthy Diet Score.
The score is a scientifically validated survey which assesses people's diet quality against the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
More than 40,000 people took part in the survey, which evaluated a person's diet based on variety, frequency and quantity of the essential food groups as well as individual attributes such as age and gender.
Discretionary food, or junk food, intake was found to be three-times higher than the recommended daily limit.
Based on the survey results, Australians eat the equivalent of 32kg of chocolate each year.
CSIRO research director for nutrition Professor Manny Noakes said while many people scored highly in categories such as water intake and the variety of foods consumed, there is certainly lots of room for improvement in other areas.
"What we're finding is people are having larger portions of junk food, more often," Professor Noakes said.
"This type of food is no longer just an indulgence, it's become mainstream and Australians are eating it each and every day.
"In order to improve your diet quality, people need to cut back on the consumption of junk food, and start to focus on eating smaller portions.
"They also need to be more mindful of every bite they take by eating more slowly and consciously."
From an industry perspective, the Produce Marketing Association Australia - New Zealand (PMA A-NZ) launched the "Pick Right. Feel Bright" healthy eating campaign earlier this year.
The campaign recently received the backing of Nutrition Australia.
Accredited nutritionist and CEO of Nutrition Australia Victoria division Lucinda Hancock also urged Australians to take part in the Try For Five Challenge where participants eat the recommended five serves of vegetables every day for seven days.
“Vegetables burst with flavour and they're packed full of important vitamins and minerals, disease-fighting antioxidants and gut-healthy fibre," Ms Hancock said.
“And they're so versatile because you can eat them any way you like."
