Enjoy a variety of foods - difficult but necessary in developing countries.
Year: 2001
Type: article
Abstract: Enjoy a variety of foods is the first of the ten South African Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs). This guideline attempts to focus on some of the consequences arising from a lack of dietary variety. Its aim is to encourage people to change their diets where necessary so as to increase the variety of foods eaten and to enjoy their food. The guideline needs to be understood in the context of the other FBDGs and to be applied with the assistance of appropriate food guides. For both consumers and nutritional scientists variety is conceptualised as including different foods and different food groups as part of the diet as well as altering the method of food preparation. In addition for the consumer variety is important in order for the taste preferences of the household to be accommodated as well as ensuring that the family enjoys their food. Prevalent low micronutrient intakes and low energy intakes as well as overconsumption of food with the associated increased risk for chronic diseases of lifestyle are addressed. There are however a number of potential problems which may arise from this guideline. The high levels of household food insecurity in South Africa will be a constraint on the implementation of this guideline. Increasing dietary variety could be interpreted as increasing the number of processed foods of low micronutrient and phytochemical content particularly in the urban context. Obesity is a problem for some sections of the population in South Africa and increasing dietary diversity could lead to increased energy intakes and obesity. Therefore formulation of appropriate food guides and other measures are important to address these problems and to ensure that increasing dietary variety leads to increased intakes of appropriate foods that are good sources of micronutrients. The challenge is to ensure that these goals are achieved within the context of high household food insecurity and increasing urbanisation. (authors)
Language: English
Subfield: Food Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,590
OpenAlex ID: W1001770152