New CSIRO research reveals the area from Coffs Harbour through to Grafton has some of the nation's healthiest eating habits.

The CSIRO has released a dietary snapshot of the nation and based on the survey results the Coffs Coast leads the way when it comes to nutrition.

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.

The country's diet quality was given a rating of 61 on a 100-point scale when assessed and showed that discretionary food, or junk food, intake was found to be three times higher than the recommended daily limit.

"The scores were fairly unflattering across all respondents," Professor Manny Noakes, Researcher at the CSIRO said.

"If we were handing out report cards for diet quality - Australia would only get a C.

"However the Coffs Coast seemed to score a lot higher than the rest of the country by a few points.

"In the Coffs region the score for those discretionary or junk foods was a lot lower than the rest of the country."

Professor Noakes believes that the regions score of 64.1 is due to the age and type of work force on the Coffs Coast.

"A larger proportion of people living there have more time to focus on their nutrition because they are retired," she said.

"And there are more health care professionals who would be focused on their health and well being."

If you would like to find out how you measure up the CSIRO Healthy Diet Score is a free 15-minute online assessment which evaluates diet quality and identifies areas of improvement.