1. Dietary Guidelines Around the World
Dr Adrienne Forsyth
Dietetics & Human Nutrition
School of Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Sport
1 June 2015

2. What are dietary guidelines?

3. Have you seen any dietary guidelines?

4. Dietary Guidelines
Government recommendations for healthy eating
Developed by nutrition experts
Based on nutrition research and population dietary preferences
May be quantitative (nutrient recommendations) or food-based
Designed to:
Meet nutrient requirements
Provide appropriate amounts of energy
Include culturally appropriate, available and accessible foods

5. Australian Dietary Guidelines
Current edition published in 2013
You need to become familiar with these and be an advocate for them in your roles at home, work & in the community

6. Australian Dietary Guidelines
To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious foods and drinks to meet your energy needs
Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five food groups every day:
Vegetables and legumes/beans
Fruit
Grain foods
Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans
Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives
and drink plenty of water.
Limit intake of food containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol
Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding
Care for your food; prepare and store it safely
Sum up: energy balance, what to eat, what not to eat, b/f, food safety

7. Incorporated within and developed in conjunction with the dietary guidelines (previously this had been done separately)
New version – real food pictures, frozen and tinned options

8. Irish Food Pyramid
Gives number recommendations on the visual guide

9. Swiss Food Pyramid
Combines PA messages and general quantitative advice

10. Belgian Food Pyramid
Colour coded by food group ie yellow for grains, green for veg, blue for water

11. Spanish Food Pyramid
Similar to other pyramids

12. Greek Food Pyramid
Gives daily, weekly and monthly quantitative targets
Only food picture is of wine

13. Latvian Food Pyramid Real food pictures
Quantitative targets at % of diet rather than number of serves

14. German Food Pyramid
Germany uses a three-dimensional pyramid that provides qualitative (nutritional role of the food) as well as quantitative (how much of this food relative to others) advice on food consumption.
The four sides of the pyramid are dedicated to the following food groups:
Foods primarily of plant origin; criteria for grouping at the base, middle or top of the pyramid being calorie density, nutrient density (vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, fibre); preventive aspects (cancer, heart disease).
Foods primarily of animal origin; criteria for grouping at the base, middle or top of the pyramid being calorie density, nutrient density (e.g., calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, B vitamins, vitamin D); fat quality (saturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids).
Dietary fats and oils; positioning criteria for fats being: fatty acid composition omega-3, omega-6, omega-9 fatty acids, saturated fats, ratio of omega-6:omega-3 fatty acids); vitamin E; cholesterol; trans fats; application in cooking; criteria for oils: ratio of omega-6:omega-3 fatty acids; vitamin E content.
Beverages; positioning criteria being: calorific value (moderate: < 7% carbohydrates, high: > 7% carbohydrates); essential nutrients; phytonutrients; stimulants; sweeteners.
The colours on the left of each of the four sides of the German pyramid are traffic lights that indicate the nutritional value of the foods and thereby give advice on the amounts to be consumed. The traffic lights apply to foods within the same food group.
The bottom of the 3D pyramid depicts a circle indicating the relative proportions of each group in the diet. For this, the plant-based foods are divided into ‘fruits and vegetables’ and ‘cereals’ and are given a much larger proportion of the circle than the animal-based foods. Fats are reduced to a very small proportion of the whole and water fills the centre.

15. Austrian Food Pyramid

16. WHO CINDI Food Pyramid
WHO Europe has developed the CINDI pyramid (from the Countrywide Integrated Non communicable Disease Intervention programme).8 The particularity of this pyramid is the use of colour codes such as the ones used in a traffic light scheme. The green colour is found at the base of the pyramid (cereals, fruits and vegetables) and hence indicates that those foods should constitute the largest part of the diet. Milk and dairy products and meat, fish and eggs are in the orange, middle part of the pyramid. The orange colour signifies that only moderate amounts of these foods are needed for a healthy balanced diet. Red is found at the top of the pyramid, covering fat, oils and sugars. The red colour informs people that only very small amounts of these foods are needed.
Traffic light colour scheme
Picture based – appropriate for multiple languages

17. The UK Eatwell Plate
Includes high fat & sugar choices on the plate

18. The Spanish Wheel Has a wedge for oils & spreads
Water and exercise at the centre

19. The Hungarian House
Looks like meats & milk groups are as large as the others

20. The French Stairs
Reverse order of pyramids with meat and milk on the bottom

21. USA: Choose my plate Simple and clear Suitable for low literacy?
Where are fats and discretionary choices?

22. Canadian Food Rainbow
Available in 10+ languages

23. Canada’s Food Guide for First Nations, Inuit and Metis
Available in 4 native languages
This new tailored food guide includes both traditional foods and store-bought foods that are generally available, affordable and accessible across Canada and provides unique images and content.
Recommendations are based on the new 2007 version of Canada's Food Guide.

24. Which food guide do you like best?

25. How would you design a food guide?

26. Suggestions for Food Guides
Children
Older Australians
Vegetarians
Athletes
Others?