The report is part of Australia's largest health survey and the first to compare food consumption against the Australian Dietary Guidelines. "It's getting worse," said nutritionist Lucinda Hancock, from Nutrition Australia, citing previous results that showed about seven per cent of adults were meeting the recommended intake for vegetables. "The way our society is now, we've got so many junk foods out there, so many packaged foods … Actually making the healthy choice is quite difficult." More than one third of Australians' daily energy intake comes from 'junk food' such as sweetened beverages, alcohol, cakes, confectionary and pastry products, the report found.

Australians fell furthest from the mark when it came to vegetables and legumes, with fewer than one in 25 Australians meeting the minimum recommended number of serves. Only one in 10 eat enough dairy, while one in seven meet the guidelines for lean meats and alternatives. Australians came closest to fulfilling the recommendations for fruit and grains, with one in three meeting the guidelines in each food group. "However, one-third of the fruit serves was from juice and dried fruit, and two-thirds of the grains and cereals were from refined grains rather than whole grain or high fibre sources," said ABS director of health Louise Gates. The Australian Dietary Guidelines, established in 2013, have not been well communicated to the public, said Stephen Colagiuri, from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity at the University of Sydney.

"This report basically underlines that we're not getting the message across. We need to help people to better understand the food that they're eating," Professor Colagiuri said, adding that most Australians would probably be surprised to find they were not meeting dietary recommendations. "There is a disconnect with weight - much of which is determined by what you eat - and the vast array of health consequences that can occur. Especially in the younger age group, their motivation for doing anything about weight is mostly cosmetic rather than for health reasons," he said. "While it's not all that easy to reduce one's weight, what we're really hoping is to prevent the weight gain ... That in itself would have a significant impact on the amount of chronic disease we have." Ms Hancock said public health initiatives hadn't done enough to make healthy foods the easiest choice in terms of convenience, availability and cost.