TY - JOUR
T1 - A comparison of European countries FBDG in the light of their contribution to tackle diet-related health inequalities
AU - Carrillo-Álvarez, Elena
AU - Boeckx, Hilde
AU - Penne, Tess
AU - Palma Linares, Imma
AU - Storms, Berénice
AU - Goedemé, Tim
N1 - Funding Information:
This article reports a comparative analysis of the food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) that were applicable in 2015 in 25 EU countries, conducted in the framework of the ‘Pilot Project for the development of a common methodology on Reference Budgets in Europe’. The Pilot project was a research study funded by the European Commission’s DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion to develop a common methodology to construct high-quality comparable reference budgets (RBs) in all EU Member States. RBs are conceptualized as illustrative priced baskets of goods and services that represent the minimum necessary resources for well-described types of families to have an adequate social participation.1 In this framework, participating adequately means that people have the essentials to develop their various social roles in a particular society (i.e. being a mother, a worker, a student, a neighbour, a citizen, etc.). Because building RBs requires developing a concrete list of goods and services to fulfil a specific need (here, a suitable diet that allows adequate social participation), our work started from national FBDG as a ‘normative’ input on what the population from different EU countries is recommended to eat to achieve and/or maintain good health.
Funding Information:
This article is part of the ‘Pilot Project for the development of a common methodology on Reference Budgets in Europe’, funded by the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (VC/2013/0554).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2020/4
Y1 - 2020/4
N2 - Background: The purpose of this article is to report on a comparative analysis of the official food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) that were applicable in 2015 in 25 EU Member States. We assess FBDG in relation to the main guidelines established by the FAO/WHO, the EURODIET project and the EFSA, with a particular focus on identifying strengths and limitations of current FBDG in Europe towards addressing diet-related health inequalities. Methods: This is a review research, in which a mixed-methods sequenced procedure was utilized. In each EU country key informants, including sociologists, economists, dietitians and nutritionists were asked to provide data regarding: (i) current dietary guidelines and national health priorities, (ii) model of health promotion currently available, (iii) results of the latest food consumption survey. All documents were reviewed by the coordinating team. Full data were analysed by two nutritionists, using a tabulated sheet to organize and compare the results. Results: While all countries have national FBDG, the level of detail and quality varies substantially with regard to: Time of last update; availability of recommendations for specific target groups; specification of frequency and portion size; the graphical representation; recommended amounts and limits of foods consumed; and recommendations regarding physical activity. Conclusions: European countries have great opportunities to improve FBDG to better serve Public Health policy through a more consistent foundation of how these guidelines are developed, the inclusion of different population subgroups as a target for recommendations and the implementation of monitoring systems.
AB - Background: The purpose of this article is to report on a comparative analysis of the official food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) that were applicable in 2015 in 25 EU Member States. We assess FBDG in relation to the main guidelines established by the FAO/WHO, the EURODIET project and the EFSA, with a particular focus on identifying strengths and limitations of current FBDG in Europe towards addressing diet-related health inequalities. Methods: This is a review research, in which a mixed-methods sequenced procedure was utilized. In each EU country key informants, including sociologists, economists, dietitians and nutritionists were asked to provide data regarding: (i) current dietary guidelines and national health priorities, (ii) model of health promotion currently available, (iii) results of the latest food consumption survey. All documents were reviewed by the coordinating team. Full data were analysed by two nutritionists, using a tabulated sheet to organize and compare the results. Results: While all countries have national FBDG, the level of detail and quality varies substantially with regard to: Time of last update; availability of recommendations for specific target groups; specification of frequency and portion size; the graphical representation; recommended amounts and limits of foods consumed; and recommendations regarding physical activity. Conclusions: European countries have great opportunities to improve FBDG to better serve Public Health policy through a more consistent foundation of how these guidelines are developed, the inclusion of different population subgroups as a target for recommendations and the implementation of monitoring systems.
KW - Socioeconomic-status
KW - Mediterranean diet
KW - Food
KW - Prevention
KW - Guidelines
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084103840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=pure_univeritat_ramon_llull&SrcAuth=WosAPI&KeyUT=WOS:000537384200005&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS
U2 - 10.1093/EURPUB/CKZ139
DO - 10.1093/EURPUB/CKZ139
M3 - Article
C2 - 31377796
AN - SCOPUS:85084103840
SN - 1101-1262
VL - 30
SP - 346
EP - 353
JO - European Journal of Public Health
JF - European Journal of Public Health
IS - 2
ER -
