Paradigm shifts in the history of dietary advice in Australia

Abstract

Dietary advice in Australia, understood as recommendations as to a 'better' way of eating directed to the general population, has changed significantly as a result of advances in nutritional science and, in accordance with the structure of scientific revolutions outlined by Thomas Kuhn, by a series of 'paradigm shifts'. These occur when the existing theory or paradigm becomes inadequate to explain observations or research findings and is discarded in favour of a new paradigm. In the history of dietary advice in Australia, paradigm shifts are associated with the discovery of vitamins at the beginning of the twentieth century and recognition of the role of fat in heart disease in the second half of the twentieth century. In both instances, a consequence of the paradigm shift was dramatic changes in dietary advice. While research has played, and continues to play, a significant role in the shaping of dietary advice, the direction of nutrition research is increasingly influenced by commercial considerations, which has implications for future dietary advice.