THE NATIONAL FOOD GUIDE - DEVELOPMENT OF DIETETIC CRITERIA AND NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Despite the wide availability of health education materials and the in tensive media interest in food and health, the number of individuals c hanging their diets has been insufficient to shift average population intakes towards current recommendations. The Nutrition Task Force docu ment 'Eat Well!' indicated that the development of a nationally recogn ized, authoritative and consistently used guide to food selection was a priority. The provision of practical information, via a simple model for nutrition education suitable for wide use, would help to provide the general public with a consistent message on food and health. The N ational Food Guide: The Balance of Good Health illustrates an agreed c ore structure of food groupings based on dietetic criteria and the nut ritional characteristics of foods within each of the groups. The guide has been developed giving due consideration to the provision of nutri tional adequacy, cultural variations, educational needs and requiremen ts for flexibility. This paper outlines the general and specific nutri tional objectives of the National Food Guide. It details the criteria for the inclusion of foods within each of the five illustrated food gr oups, describes the key characteristics of foods within those groups a nd the rationale for the space allocated for each food group section.