IMPLEMENTING FOOD-BASED DIETARY GUIDELINES TO GUIDE POLICIES, PROGRAMMES AND CONSUMER FOOD AND NUTRITION EDUCATION

The need for food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) to guide national food-related policies and programmes including food and nutrition education programmes is increasingly recognized. However, there has been a lack of information on how FBDGs are implemented by national entities, and a lack of guidance on carrying out implementation beyond dissemination. This presentation will describe the findings of a study conducted to obtain a snapshot of country actions of FBDGs implementation. A literature review and key informant interviews with staff and researchers in government ministries, national nutrition organizations and academia in 27 countries were used. The inquiry was based on the social-ecological model. Results obtained will be presented; and some preliminary recommendations on how to maximize the impact of FBDGs are given, which include the need for a consumer-centred approach; an implementation plan with built-in monitoring, evaluation, and funding; the need to target all policies/programmes that influence food, and the need to target policymakers as well as educators and the general public.