Improvement in Remote Aboriginal Australia

Background: The cost and dietary choices required to fulfil nutrient recommendations defined nationally, need investigation, particularly for disadvantaged populations. Objective: We used optimisation modelling to examine the dietary change required to achieve nutrient requirements at minimum cost for an Aboriginal population in remote Australia, using where possible minimally-processed whole foods. Design: A twelve month cross-section of population-level purchased food, food price and nutrient content data was used as the baseline. Relative amounts from 34 food group categories were varied to achieve specific energy and nutrient density goals at minimum cost while meeting model constraints intended to minimise deviation from the purchased diet. Results: Simultaneous achievement of all nutrient goals was not feasible. The two most successful models (A & B) met all nutrient targets except sodium (146.2 % and 148.9 % of the respective target) and saturated fat (12.0 % and 11.7 % of energy). Model A was achieved with 3.2 % lower cost than the baseline diet (which cost approximately AUD$13.01/person/day) and Model B at 7.8 % lower cost but with a reduction in energy of 4.4%. Both models required very large reductions in suga