Updating the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for the Spanish Population: The Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) Proposal

TLDR

Diet‑related risk factors and physical inactivity are major contributors to disability and chronic non‑communicable disease burden, and food‑based dietary guidelines are valuable tools for promoting healthier eating and activity. The paper outlines the process used by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition to develop national dietary guidelines and details its collaboration with primary healthcare practitioners. SENC convened nutrition and public health experts to review diet‑health evidence, drafted the guidelines and graphic icon, and then conducted a consultation, discussion, and qualitative evaluation before establishing a dissemination strategy with primary healthcare societies. The collaboration resulted in an attractive, easy‑to‑understand publication of the guidelines.

Abstract

Diet-related risk factors and physical inactivity are among the leading risk factors for disability and are responsible for a large proportion of the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases. Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) are useful tools for nutrition policies and public health strategies to promote healthier eating and physical activity. In this paper, we discuss the process followed in developing the dietary guidelines for the Spanish population by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) and further explain the collaboration with primary healthcare practitioners as presented in the context of the NUTRIMAD 2018 international congress of SENC. From a health in all policies approach, SENC convened a group of experts in nutrition and public health to review the evidence on diet-health, nutrient intake and food consumption in the Spanish population, as well as food preparation, determinants and impact of diet on environmental sustainability. The collaborative group drafted the document and designed the graphic icon, which was then subject to a consultation process, discussion, and qualitative evaluation. Next, a collaborative group was established to plan a dissemination strategy, involving delegates from all the primary healthcare scientific societies in Spain. A product of this collaboration was the release of an attractive, easy-to-understand publication.