Comparative analysis of dietary guidelines for Spain

Abstract

Background: In Spain, the incidence of obesity and noncommunicable diseases continues to rise, despite the attempts of health institutions to redirect the population towards a healthier nutritional model by adopting nutrition strategies and dietary guidelines. This study analyses the advice of Spanish dietary guidelines on daily food intake. Methods: A comparative study of the content of 18 Spanish dietary guidelines was performed using the WHO Countrywide Integrated Noncommunicable Disease Intervention (CINDI) programme’s dietary guide as the gold standard. Results: There is evidence that contents differ among dietary guidelines: not all include the CINDI 12 steps to healthy eating and 72% ignore the recommendation for a “varied diet based mainly on plant foods”. The advice is often not easy to follow: only one of the 18 guidelines includes household measures; most do not recommend specific foods; 73% do not mention which foods should be included in a balanced diet; and 61% do not define fatty foods. Other differences relate to serving size, food quantification, units used and recommended amounts. Conclusions: This paper describes the variations among Spanish dietary guidelines that might lead individuals to develop a mistaken concept of what healthy eating is.