Dietary guidelines

across the world

Mette de Haas & Emkea

Krekels
CA3G
12-04-2017

Table of contents
Introduction 3
1. Dietary guidelines 4
2. Dutch dietary guidelines 5
3. Australian dietary guidelines 6
4. American dietary guidelines 7
5. Irish dietary guidelines 8
6. Similarities and differences 9
7. Our opinion 12
8. College dietary guidelines 13
Conclusion 14
Sources 15

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Introduction
In this report, we will be talking about dietary guidelines. We will start with
an explanation on dietary guidelines. Then we will take a look at different
dietary guidelines from 4 countries: the Netherlands, Australia, the USA
and Ireland. We are going to compare them and judge them. Finally, we
will make our own dietary guidelines.
We are excited to learn new stuff. We hope you will enjoy this report.

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1. Dietary guidelines

Food
Food is necessary for people to stay alive. There are several reasons for
this. In order for your body to perform properly, we need nutrients, which
are chemical substances in food. Proteins are needed for the growth and
repair of your body, and there are many more essential substances that
can be found in food. There are lots of differences between the kinds of
food, for example vegetables and fast food. Therefore its important to
understand the right balance.

Dietary guidelines
To help people stay healthy, there are dietary guidelines. These are dietary
recommendations which are meant to improve your lifestyle concerning
food. This results in improvement of your quality of life and the increasing
of your life expectancy.
Following these dietary guidelines does not guaranty a healthy life. This is
because there are way more factors on which your health depends, for
example exercising, but it does help you.

Dietary guidelines in different countries

Because food habits can differ very much, dietary guidelines differ too.
Dietary guidelines may differ quite a lot. This depends on not only your
country, but also on your cultural and religious background.

Why dietary guidelines?

In a country, the inhabitants education differs quite a lot. This means that
some people are better informed than others. This also goes for the
subject food. A part of the population may know perfectly how to eat
healthy, while others have no idea how to do it. For the ones who have no
idea as well as the ones who would like to be even better informed, the
dietary guidelines are made. They help the population understand food,
which will result in an improved lifestyle.

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2. Dutch dietary guidelines

The latest dietary guidelines for Dutch people

was published in 2015. It was written by the
health council committee of the Netherlands,
which is an independent scientific advisory body. Its job is to advice both
the population and the government with the latest news on health and
health issues. The Netherlands nutrition center, the national institute of
public health and the environment have also contributed to the dietary
guidelines.
The dietary guidelines focus on given advice which should prevent chronic
diseases.
The committee has written a different document called Methodology for
the evaluation
of the evidence for the Dutch dietary guidelines 2015. In this document,
they explain on what they based the dietary guidelines, the research and
the evidence.
The dietary guidelines are:

1. Follow a dietary pattern that involves eating more plant-based and

less animal-based food, as recommended in the guidelines
2. Consume a minimum of 200 grams of vegetables and 200 grams of
fruit daily
3. Eat at least 90 grams of brown bread, whole meal bread or other
wholegrain products daily
4. Consume legumes weekly
5. 15 Grams of unsalted nuts daily is the minimum intake
6. Take a few portions of dairy produce daily, including milk or yogurt
7. Eat one portion of fish per week, with the preference of oily fish
8. Drink three cups of tea per day
9. Eat whole-grain products rather than refined cereal
10. Replace butter, hard margarines, and cooking fats by soft
margarines, liquid cooking fats, and vegetable oils
11. Drink filtered coffee instead of unfiltered coffee
12. Eat less red meat, particularly processed meat
13. Consume as little sugar-containing beverages as possible
14. Dont drink alcohol or no more than one glass daily
15. Dont take in more than 6 grams of salt daily
16. You dont have to take nutrient supplements, except for
specific groups for which supplementation applies

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3. Australian dietary guidelines
We found a dietary guideline about Australia
from 2013. The publisher is the National Health and
Medical Research Council also called NHMRC. The
research has also been funded by NHMRC and its mainly written by them
as well. However many other people helped with this research. For
example Australian Government health departments.
The dietary guideline is based on their own research because the NHMRC
researched everything and they made their own dietary guideline.
In Australia there are six guidelines:

1. To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and

think about the amounts of nutritious food and drinks you take to get
enough energy.
2. Eat a wide variety of these five groups of food:
- Lots of vegetables
- Fruit
- Cereal foods
- Dairy
- Meat, fish, eggs and nuts
- And plenty of water!
3. Avoid or limit added sugar, added salt, fats and alcohol.
4. Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding.
5. Prepare and store your food safely. Care about your food.

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4. American dietary guidelines

In 2015, the eight edition of the dietary

guidelines for Americans was released. Every 5
years, a new one is made, so this one will be
up-to-date till 2020. The dietary guidelines of 2015-2020 are funded and
written by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The departmental scientists, staff, and policy
officials also played a role in the production of the dietary guidelines for
Americans.
The 2015 dietary guidelines advisory committee provided all of the
scientific evidence. They did lots of research focusing on nutrient, health
and medicine. The committee advised the people who wrote the dietary
guidelines, therefore the dietary guidelines are based on the research of
the 2015 dietary guidelines advisory committee.
The American dietary guidelines focus on 5 main guidelines:

1. Follow a healthy eating pattern during your whole life

2. Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount
3. Try to consume as little calories from added sugars and saturated
fats as possible and decrease sodium intake.
4. Make healthier food and beverage choices.
5. Support healthy eating patterns for everyone.

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5. Irish dietary guidelines
The dietary guideline about Ireland that we found is
published by Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) in 2011.
The Department of Health and Children asked the FSAI to do
research to review the eating habits of Irish people. FSAI
did some research to the food pyramid as well. The renewed dietary
guidelines are written by the steering committee.
In short, FSAI funded the report and they researched most things. The
steering committee wrote the dietary guidelines.
FSAI concluded sixteen important guidelines:

1. Eat a wide variety of foods divided into six groups as seen in the
food pyramid.
2. Find a good way to be physically active every day or make sure you
balance your food intake.
3. Choose the right serving size.
4. The lowest group of the pyramid provide the best calories for a
healthy weight.
5. Eat enough vegetables, salad and fruit. At least five a day.
6. Low-fat milk, yoghurt and cheese are okay, but choose milk and
yoghurt more often than cheese.
7. Eat lean meat and poultry and include fish.
8. Limit the use of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated spreads and
oils, reduce the amount of fat.
9. Grill, bake, steam or boil food, instead of frying or deep frying.
10. Balance your amount of snack intake per day, not too much
and not too often.
11. Limit your salt intake.
12. Drink plenty of water.
13. Everyone should take a daily vitamin D supplement.
14. All women that might get pregnant have to take a folic acid
supplement daily to prevent neural tube
defects in babies.
15. Breastfeeding should be encouraged
and supported because it has many short-
term and long-term advantages for babies
and mothers.
16. Prepare and store food safely.

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6. Similarities and differences
Guidelines
When we looked into the report of the guidelines itself, we saw quit a lot of
differences. The 5 American guidelines itself are basically a summary of
the report, which means they are superficial. They are worked out in detail
in the report itself. The American guidelines are not only related to food,
but also encourage you to support yourself and your environment. The
Dutch guidelines are very different from the American. There are 16
guidelines, which include very specific things, like the amounts. The
Australian guidelines are superficial when you compare them to the Dutch
dietary guidelines, but they contain more details than the American
guidelines. The Irish guidelines are more focused on the product, whereas
the other guidelines are more focused on the food groups. Just like the
Dutch guidelines, there are 16, including some details.
Although there are differences, the main message from all the countries is
the same: stay/become healthy by paying attention to what you consume.

Breastfeeding
It results in short-term and long-term advantages, in terms of health, for
the baby and for the mother herself. Chances for certain diseases are
limited when the baby gets breastfeeding. Another advantage for the baby
is that he/she gets stronger bones. Furthermore, nursing decreases the
risk of getting cancer for the mother and the baby. Breastfeeding also
results in better development for the baby. There are many more reasons
why breastfeeding is recommended.
Breastfeeding was mentioned in the guidelines of Australia and Ireland.
The Netherlands and America didn't say anything about breastfeeding. So
you see there are differences in the
dietary guidelines between the countries.

Physical activity
You might think, that it's logical to be physical active every day. However
only Ireland and Australia, say something about being physically active
every day. Being physically active, increases your life expectancy, it
decreases the chance to get depressed, you will get stronger muscles and
bones and you will stay at or get a healthier wealth. There are again many
more reasons to be physical active.

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It is particularly that America and the Netherlands don't say anything
about being physically active because it is often seen as a main reason to
stay healthy.

Wide variety
A wide variety of food is recommended in the Australian, Irish and
American guidelines. The Dutch guidelines do mention different foods, but
don't say anything about variety particularly. However, a wide variety is an
important guideline because it's healthy to eat food of different kinds. For
example, vegetables and fruits, milk and dairy foods, foods and drinks
high in fat and/or sugar, starchy foods and non-dairy sources of protein. Of
course it's smart to eat more of vegetables and fruits than of foods and
drinks high in fat and/or sugar.

Right amounts
Choosing the right amount of food, can be comparible to the wide variety.
All guidelines mention the importance of choosing the right amount of for
example salts, meat, vegetables, fish and so on. It's important that we
don't eat too much of a certain kind of food and certainly not too often.
The importance of the intake of the right amount, is a similarity in all of
the guidelines.

Storage
The storage of food seems very obvious, but still lots of mistakes are
made, for example putting tomatos in the fridge. Ireland and Australia
advice to store food safely, but no details are mentioned. Both the
Netherlands and the USA dont say anything about the storage of food.

Supplements
Supplements are added to diets to improve your health. Think of for
example vitamin additives. However, there are lots of people not sure
about the real working of them. What cant be denied is that supplements
can in no way replace a healthy diet. The Dutch dietary guidelines say
taking nutrient supplements is not needed. Ireland is more specific saying
everyone should take vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D is naturally
produced by the body when the sunshine
reaches your bare skin. Both Australia and the
USA dont mention them at all.

Alcohol

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While alcohol is a really big part of our society and health problems, the
Dutch dietary guidelines is the only one to mention this subject, saying
that you should not drink more than one alcoholic drink and preferably
none at all. Alcohol is very harmful for human beings. They damage
especially the brains and increase the risk of getting numerous diseases.

Beverages
Beverages are a large part of the daily consumption. You need beverages
to stay hydrated and they may offer you vital nutrients and antioxidants.
The USA does say something about beverages but keeps it really general
and doesnt go into it at all. Make healthy beverage choices is basically the
only thing they say. Ireland and Australia advice to drink plenty of water.
The Netherlands focuses on beverages the most, explaining about tea,
coffee, alcohol and sugar-containing beverages.

Causes differences and similarities

The differences are, in our opinion, caused by several things. First of all,
culture, religion and habits. Furthermore, the dietary guidelines are all
written by different people who have different ideas. Therefore, the lay-out
and structure vary.
We are inclined to believe that the similarities are caused by the research
which was done. Secondly, we are all human beings, whether you live in
the USA, the Netherlands, Australia or Ireland.

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7. Our opinion
Now that we have looked into different dietary guidelines, we are able to
draw our own conclusion about them.
The idea of sharing advices on how to stay healthy is really good, but we
think it could be worked out better. The documents are too long, too
difficult and too formal for regular people to read. This could be changed
by using different methods of presenting the information, for example
clear graphs and tables. It could be made less difficult by adjusting the
language.
However we do think it is very important for the population to know more
about consumption. By for example summarizing the entire document into
a colorful, clear poster, people might actually want to read it.

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8. College dietary guidelines
The dietary guidelines from het College Weert
were produced and released in 2017. They are
written and produced by Mette de Haas and
Emkea Krekels, who also did all of the research.
They did this on a request of the biology
compartment of het College. All of the
information that can found in these guidelines,
are based on well conducted research,
including former guidelines of other countries. Therefore the sources
include the previously mentioned dietary guidelines from the Netherlands,
the USA, Australia and Ireland. Furthermore, we used the book from Kris
Verburgh called de voedselzandloper over afvallen en langer jong blijven.
The sources can be found at the end of this report.

1. Be aware of what you consume, where it comes from and how it will
affect you
2. Try to eat as varied as possible
3. Keep it realistic, dont set goals you can never achieve
4. Keep yourself motivated by rewarding yourself every now and then
5. Drink lots of water
6. Follow an eating pattern every day, try to eat at the same time daily
7. Consume lots of fruits and vegetables daily
8. Consume less fats, starch, fast food, product with added sugar,
polyunsaturated oils, salt and sugar
9. Consume more supplements, sugar substitutes, dark chocolate,
nuts, soya products, fat fish and poultry, eggs, cheese, meat
substitutes, oatmeal, legumes, mushrooms, water, green or white
tea, ginger tea, red wine and milk
10. Support others to eat healthy

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11. Limit the amount of alcohol
12. Dont smoke
13. Be physically active

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Conclusion
It was interesting to work on this project and read the dietary guidelines.
Its fascinating to see the differences and similarities between countries.
We have learned a lot, because this isnt a subject you usually discuss. We
didnt even know that dietary guidelines existed and now we have created
our own.
It was very nice to make our own dietary guidelines. It wasnt easy to
come up with suitable guidelines that could improve someones health.
All in all, it was a nice project and we are proud of and satisfied with our
accomplishment.

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Sources
https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/resources/2015-
2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf
https://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/sites/default/files/201524edutch_dietary_g
uidelines_2015.pdf
https://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/sites/default/files/a1503e_methodology_fo
r_the_evaluation_of_the_evidence_for_the_dutch_dietary_guidelines_2015_
0.pdf
https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/publications/n55_australian_die
tary_guidelines1.pdf
Scientific Recommendations for Healthy Eating Guidelines in Ireland (PDF)
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-
stages/baby/breastfeeding/Pages/Why-Breastfeed.aspx
Book: de voedselzandloper over afvallen en langer jong blijven van Kris
Verburgh

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