The science of nutrition and healthy eating

1.1 Dietary advice from around the world

Dietary advice from around the world tends to be very similar but can be explained in different ways.

In the next activity you will look at dietary advice from different countries.

Activity 2 Dietary advice from Japan, India, Mexico, USA, Canada and the Mediterranean

Allow approximately 20 minutes.

Figures 3–8 are some food guides from other countries around the world. Compare them with the UK Eatwell Guide. Do you think any of them provide better advice?

Write two or three sentences in the box below the figures. Click ‘Save’ when you are satisfied with what you have written.

Figure 3 Japan’s food guide

Graphic representation of the Japanese food guide spinning top. The top of the figure has the heading, Japanese food guide spinning top, do you have a well-balanced diet? The top of the spinning top has a cartoon figure running, with the label physical activity, and water or teas labelled, representing the centre of the spinning top. There are four different segments going vertically to the bottom of the spinning top, with images of different food items. There is a label coming from the second segment from the bottom: Enjoy snacks, confection and beverages moderately! On the right of the spinning top, there are the following labels, suggesting the guidelines for one day, marking each of the segments: 5–7 SV grain dishes, 5–6 SV vegetable dishes, 3–5 SV fish and meat dishes, 2 SV milk, and 2 SV fruits. SV is an abbreviation of serving, which is a simply countable number describing the approximated amount of each dish or food served to one person. The bottom of the figure has the text: decided by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and Ministry of Agricultute, Forestry and Fisheries.

Figure 4 India’s food guide

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