Revised food-based dietary guidelines for South Africa: challenges pertaining to their testing, implementation and evaluation

Abstract

Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) are brief, positive dietary recommendation messages that are used to inform consumers how to choose food and beverage combinations that will lead to a diet that is adequate, that meets nutrient need and that is, at the same time, prudent, for example, which lowers the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).1 FBDGs are based on the best available scientific evidence on the relationship between what we eat and our health. Furthermore, country-specific FBDGs are influenced by prevailing eating patterns and public health problems within the country.¹