Junk foods' are foods that lack nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and are high in kilojoules (energy), salts, sugars, and fats. Junk food is so called because it doesn’t play a role in healthy eating, especially if it's eaten to excess. Junk food is also known as discretionary food or optional food.
Some examples of junk food include:
cakes and biscuits
fast foods (such as hot chips, burgers and pizzas)
chocolate and sweets
processed meat (such as bacon)
snacks (such as chips)
sugary drinks (such as sports, energy and soft drinks)
alcoholic drinks
If your diet is high in fats, salt and sugar and is not receiving essential nutrients, your risk of obesity and other chronic (long-term) diseases may well increase.
These diseases include:
cardiovascular disease
type 2 diabetes
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
a number of cancers
While finding healthy alternatives to junk food can sometimes be difficult, the Health Star Rating system is a convenient tool to help you determine how healthy a product is. It provides a quick and easy way to compare similar packaged foods.
Packaged foods are rated between half a star and 5 stars based on how healthy they are. These ratings are found on the front of packaged items.
It's important to understand the nutritional value of the food you are buying. You can do this by reading the nutrition panel found on the back of all packaged items in Australia.
Another common claim is that a product is ‘sugar-free’ or has ‘no added sugar’. In truth, this means that a product has no added sucrose or table sugar, but it may still contain other types of sugar.
Note also that products known as ‘health foods’ such as some fruit juices and muesli bars can actually be junk food if they contain high levels of sugar, salt or fat. Check a product’s Health Star Rating for a better indication of how healthy the product is. Keep in mind that this rating system is limited in accuracy, but may be a better guide than advertised claims.
Check the Australian Dietary Guidelines to help you decide whether you need to improve your diet and to guide your food and drink intake.
Here are some suggestions on how to create healthy eating habits:
Planning ahead also helps you keep to a budget and makes shopping easier too.
Chose wholefood options such as wholemeal and wholegrain carbohydrates like pasta, bread and flour.
Choose fresh fruit for dessert instead of junk food to keep away from added salt, sugar and saturated fat.
Check your food’s nutritional value using the nutritional information panel on the back of the packet.
Watch out for advertising ‘tricks’, including claims that a product has ‘no added sugar’, since it can still be high in kilojoules, salt or fat. A product can claim to be ‘reduced in fat’ as long as it has less fat than an earlier version of the product — but it may still be high in fat.
Check the Australian Dietary Guidelines to help you decide whether you need to improve your diet and to guide your food and drink intake.
Here are some suggestions on how to create healthy eating habits:
Chose wholefood options such as wholemeal and wholegrain carbohydrates like pasta, bread and flour.
Choose fresh fruit for dessert instead of junk food to keep away from added salt, sugar and saturated fat.
Check your food’s nutritional value using the nutritional information panel on the back of the packet.
Watch out for advertising ‘tricks’, including claims that a product has ‘no added sugar’, since it can still be high in kilojoules, salt or fat. A product can claim to be ‘reduced in fat’ as long as it has less fat than an earlier version of the product — but it may still be high in fat.
Use the Health Star Rating system to compare similar packaged items and choose the healthiest one.
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