THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DIETARY GUIDELINES: SIMILARITIES AND DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THREE COUNTRIES

The World Health Organization suggests that governments provide information to the people in order to facilitate the adoption of healthier food choices in a language that is understood by everyone as well as taking into account the cultural, social, economic and environmental issues. Many countries are working in the formulation of their own dietary guidelines, with goals for nutritional counseling and improvement in people’s quality of life. However, each one has particular characteristics when considering the eating and nutritional habits of the population concerned and it may contain various general recommendations to each other. The preparation of food guides includes several steps and is therefore a very complex process. In this context, the present study investigates three current dietary guidelines (Brazil, United States and Portugal), in order to identify similarities and differences between them, trying to relate them to their production environment. A literature review was conducted in order to identify studies that address to the issue and bring the context of production of these documents, and by making a systematic reading of each of the guides adopting the thematic analysis based on the following analytical categories: content addressed, teaching strategy adopted and type of language used for population. The analyzed dietary guidelines are very distinct from each other. The guide of Portugal shown more succinctly, which can facilitate the reading by the population. However, it does not have the wealth of information as the others. The US has its most technical form of recommendations, while the Brazilian one has focused on the food rather than on nutrient, such as the Americans, emphasizing the importance of social and cultural dimensions in eating habits. DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2016.20414

Abstract licence: CC BY

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