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. 2021 Mar 10;18(6):2814.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18062814.

Highlights of Current Dietary Guidelines in Five Continents

Maria Luz Fernandez  1 , Dele Raheem  2 , Fernando Ramos  3   4 , Conrado Carrascosa  5 , Ariana Saraiva  5 , António Raposo  6
Affiliations

Highlights of Current Dietary Guidelines in Five Continents

Maria Luz Fernandez et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The dietary guidelines as well as the organizations that establish the recommendations are not homogeneous across regions of the world. Each country utilizes specific icons to better describe to the public easy ways to follow specific recommendations, including the use of pyramids, plates, and other forms of presenting key information. All dietary guidelines are updated within certain periods to ensure that new findings or specific changes are communicated to the public. The purpose of this commentary is to describe the most updated information as well as some history on how these symbols are utilized in different countries or areas of the world. The updated Mediterranean pyramid as well as MyPlate and the Pyramids utilized in South Africa, Japan, and Argentina are discussed in this commentary.

Keywords: Argentina; Japan; Mediterranean; South Africa; dietary guidelines; the USA.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
MyPlate [4].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Harvard Dietary Pyramid [7]. Copyright © 2008. For more information about The Healthy Eating Pyramid, please see The Nutrition Source, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, www.thenutritionsource.org (accessed on 1 February 2021), and Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, by Walter C. Willett, M.D. and Patrick J. Skerrett (2005), Free Press/Simon & Schuster Inc.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Updated Mediterranean Diet Pyramid [8].
Figure 4
Figure 4
The updated Mediterranean Diet Pyramid is characterized for its contribution to Health and Nutrition, the Environment, the Economy and the incorporation of Sociocultural Factors. Some of the elements supporting these claims are depicted in this figure.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Food-based dietary guidelines (South Africa) [3].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Food-based dietary guidelines—Argentina [3].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top [3].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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