CSIRO says Australians avoiding dairy foods to dangerous levels
A new CSIRO survey has discovered one in six Australian adults is avoiding dairy even though they have never received advice from their doctor to do so.
It is a trend the CSIRO says is reaching “dangerous levels”, especially for women.
The survey found 74 per cent of dairy avoiders are eliminating the food source hoping it will relieve symptoms such as cramps, bloating and wind. Some said they were staying away from dairy because they think it is fattening.
CSIRO’s Bella Yantcheva, a behavioural scientist on the research team, said the findings were concerning.
“The scale of people restricting their diet without a medical reason is very concerning in terms of the public health implications, especially for women,” Yantcheva said.
“It means there is potential for nutritional deficiencies or imbalances, or the risk that an underlying health condition could be going untreated.”
Australians continue to avoid wheat too
The survey results are similar to previous CSIRO research which discovered approximately ten times more Australians are avoiding wheat than those actually diagnosed with Coeliac’s Disease.
“It’s not just about missing out on the food type being avoided and risking your health, but also possibly overconsuming other foods to compensate as well,” Yantcheva said.
The research is published in the June 2016 edition of Public Health Nutrition journal and was conducted in conjunction with the University of Adelaide.
