Does Nutrient Supply Reflect Nutrient Intake? A Comparison Between Nutrient Intake and Nutrient Supply Data in Australia

ABSTRACT

Information about the dietary intake of the Australian population is vital for informing nutrition policies; however, national dietary surveys are not frequently conducted, with the most recent data for Australia, at the time of analysis, collected in 2011–2013. Food supply data, from Food Balance Sheets (FBS), is updated annually, with data for Australia available for 2010 to 2022. This study compared nutrient intake data from the 2011–2013 Australian Health Survey with nutrient supply data (2011–2013) calculated from FBS, to determine whether nutrient supply data may be used as a surrogate measure of population nutrient intake to complement infrequent nationally representative dietary surveys. Relative nutrient intake and relative nutrient supply were calculated as a percentage of the target nutrient intake value per person, per day. The nutrient supply data were adjusted for consumer food waste, which is not taken into consideration in the FBS. Relative nutrient intake and unadjusted relative nutrient supply were statistically comparable ( p  > 0.002) for 10 out of 23 nutrients. This increased to 12 out of 23 nutrients when the supply data was adjusted for consumer food waste. Nutrient supply and nutrient intake were comparable for some, but not all, nutrients, and adjusting the supply data for consumer food waste increased the number of nutrients for which supply was comparable with intake. Therefore, national nutrient supply data may be a useful surrogate measure for national nutrient intake for some, but not all, nutrients. These two datasets can complement one another but should not be used interchangeably.