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The number of countries developing or revising their own food guide illustrations has been increasing. To devise food guidance systems appropriate for each nation, many countries have applied research regarding their national food supply, food consumption pattern, nutrition status, and nutritional standards for the development of their individual food guides (1-5). For instance, the US Food Guide Pyramid is firmly based on United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) research on the types of food Americans consume, the nutrient composition of those foods, and their relation to the individual's nutrient needs (6). In some food guides, the presence of indigenous foods and a particular dietary pattern resulting from different geographical conditions and cultural heritages have also been considered (7,8).
It is well known that various cultures have different food availabilities, food preferences, dietary patterns, and cultural definitions of foods (7, 8). In a review paper Cronin stated that different food guidance systems may be appropriate for vegetarians, ethnic groups, and others with distinct and varying food preferences or dietary needs(9). Simopoulos also stated that universal dietary recommendations are not applicable and that, to be effective, food guides must incorporate the unique dietary components of specific populations (10). Therefore, considering the disparities in food intake of populations, food availability, and the nutrition status between countries, one would expect the food guide graphics of various countries to differ in their recommendations.
This study was conducted to introduce the official food guide pictorial representations designed by various countries and to examine the differences in their recommendations through a comparison. The national food guide illustrations of Australi , Canada, China, Germany, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Sweden, the UK, and the US were reviewed. The comparison focused mainly on the food groupings and the recommended quantities for food groups.
However, this study was limited by data collection. The number of food guides used in this comparison may represent only a small percentage of the countries that have official food guides. While the authors attempted to collect food guide illustrations from 20 countries, it is important to note that there are countries which do not have official food guide illustrations, such as Japan. And in addition, there are countries that have adopted the US Food Guide Pyramid as their...