Dietary guidelines: a critical appraisal

Dietary guidelines are issued in some countries in quantitative terms while in others a qualitative approach is preferred. The latter allows for greater flexibility while the former implies that our knowledge is sufficiently adequate to set such goals. Data are presented to show that that is not necessarily the case. Equally, a popular approach to determining which foods should be targeted for a reduction is to determine key sources of fat, usually meat and dairy products. Evidence is presented to show that these foods do not distinguish between high and low fat diets. Frequently the major determinant of the percentage of energy from fat is the percentage of energy from sugar.