Nutrient and food intakes in selected subgroups of Belgian adults

In March 1997. official dietary guidelines were for the first time publishe d in Belgium by the National Council on Nutrition. These guidelines are ent irely focussed on nutrient intake and do not translate this information int o specific 'food-based' recommendations. In this paper, actual intake data for the adult Belgian population are comp ared to these guidelines. It is concluded that the overall macronutrient in take pattern in Belgium corresponds to the typical Western so-called afflue nt diet. As a next step, an attempt is made to outline a conceptual framework for de veloping food-based dietary guidelines on the basis of existing food consum ption databases. For that purpose, nutrient and food intake profiles - perc entage of consumers and mean intakes for the total population and for consu mers only - are studied for subgroups of the population that do or do not c omply to predefined dietary goals for total fat intake, fibre intake, and f ruit and vegetable intake. Finally, it is shown with an example that these data can be used as a basis for formulating healthy food recommendations towards the general populatio n in terms of specific foods or food groups to be avoided or to be chosen p referably. The food and nutrient intake data used in this paper are from the BIRNH stu dy (Belgian Interuniversity Research on Nutrition and Health, 1980-1984), t he only nationwide food consumption survey on an individual level ever carr ied out in Belgium.