Time to spill the beans - Aussies not eating enough legumes

07/08/2025

Media contacts:

Jane Simpson, 0438 682 548, jane.simpson@cancerwa.asn.au

Cancer Council WA’s LiveLighter program has launched a new digital campaign, Start Small, following new data showing the average adult is eating just 130 grams of legumes per week, less than a third of the 400 grams recommended for preventing chronic disease.

Cancer Council WA Food and Movement Manager, Ainslie Sartori, said poor diet remains the third biggest contributor to disease in Australia, with low legume intake singled out as the leading dietary risk factor [1].

“Legumes are one of the cheapest, healthiest and most sustainable foods around—but most of us are barely eating a serve a week,” Ms Sartori said.

“They are high in plant-based protein and contain essential nutrients and fibre, which can help lower your risk of heart disease and bowel cancer.

“Adding legumes to your meals a few times a week could make a big difference to your health.”

Ms Sartori said adding legumes does not have to be hard.

“Legumes include beans, peas and lentils, but peanuts, peanut butter, hummus, baked beans, frozen peas, sugar snap peas and green beans are also included in the legume count,” she said.

“Throw a can of beans into a curry or soup, mash some chickpeas through your sandwich filling, swap out half the mince in a spaghetti bolognese for lentils or sneak some peanut butter into your breakfast smoothie. Just start small—it all adds up.”

The second wave of the Start Small campaign will be live from 10 August 2025 across catch-up tv, YouTube, radio, streaming audio, digital display, meta, reddit and TikTok.

Click HERE to view the campaign, tips and legume recipes.

ENDS

[1] AIHW, 2025

ABOUT LIVELIGHTER

LiveLighter is a healthy lifestyle social marketing campaign targeting West Australian adults. It is funded by the WA Department of Health and delivered by Cancer Council WA.

The LiveLighter campaign aims to reduce the burden of chronic disease caused by overweight and obesity, poor diet, and physical inactivity. It seeks to support WA State efforts to:

• Halt and then reverse current increasing trends of adult overweight and obesity in Western Australia.
• Increase the prevalence of Western Australian adults consuming a diet in line with the national dietary guidelines.
• Increase the prevalence of Western Australian adults meeting the physical activity and sedentary behaviour recommendations.

LiveLighter is comprehensive in its approach and employs a range of hard-hitting, TV-led public education campaigns, community-based support strategies, production and distribution of public education materials, research and evaluation, public relations activities, media and political advocacy on food and movement issues, and input into the development of public health policy.