Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31041447›Full record

ReviewAdvances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)2019

A Global Review of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines.

Anna Herforth, Mary Arimond, Cristina Álvarez-Sánchez, Jennifer Coates, Karin Christianson, Ellen Muehlhoff

Erratum issuedAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 390 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
390citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

390 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Sustainable dietary recommendations for the Spanish population.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026
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  14. Prevalence of Healthy Eating Initiatives in Australian Primary Schools: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2026
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  19. Reversing vegetable biodiversity loss to diversify diets.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
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330 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Anna HerforthIntake, Center for Dietary Assessment, FHI 360, Washington, DC.
Mary ArimondIntake, Center for Dietary Assessment, FHI 360, Washington, DC.
Cristina Álvarez-SánchezFAO Statistics Division, Rome, Italy.
Jennifer CoatesTufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Boston, MA.
Karin ChristiansonFAO Regional Office for Africa, Division of Partnerships and South-South Cooperation, Accra, Ghana.
Ellen MuehlhoffIndependent.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The objective of this review is to provide a concise, descriptive global review of current food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG), and to assess similarities and differences in key elements of a healthy diet articulated across countries. Information was sourced from the FBDG repository of the FAO, which catalogs FBDG for all countries where they are available, including a description of the food guide (the graphic representation of the dietary guidelines), a set of key messages, and downloadable documents provided by the countries. FBDG are currently available for 90 countries globally: 7 in Africa, 17 in Asia and the Pacific, 33 in Europe, 27 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 4 in the Near East, and 2 in North America. The year of publication of current versions ranges from 1986 to 2017 (mean 2009). This review provides summaries of the key messages and food guides that are used to communicate national dietary guidance, organized by food group, and evaluates the extent to which each set of FBDG includes existing recommendations articulated by the WHO. Some guidance appears nearly universally across countries: to consume a variety of foods; to consume some foods in higher proportion than others; to consume fruits and vegetables, legumes, and animal-source foods; and to limit sugar, fat, and salt. Guidelines on dairy, red meat, fats and oils, and nuts are more variable. Although WHO global guidance encourages consumption of nuts, whole grains, and healthy fats, these messages are not universally echoed across countries. Future frontiers in FBDG development include the incorporation of environmental sustainability and increased attention to sociocultural factors including rapidly changing dietary trends. Steps toward regional and global dietary recommendations could be helpful for refinement of country-level FBDG, and for clear communication and measurement of diet quality both nationally and globally.

Indexed as

Nutrition PolicyDiet, HealthyFoodGlobal HealthHumansRecommended Dietary Allowancesdietary recommendationsfood-based dietary guidelineshealthy dietnutritious dietrecommended diet

Identifiers

PMID31041447
PMCPMC6628851

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.