WHO encouraged by member states to create food-based dietary guidelines

17 Apr 2024 --- In a concerted effort to address the growing interest in food-based guidance, the World Health Organization (WHO) has begun the process of setting up global guidelines on animal-source foods and plant food alternatives by calling on nutrition and food safety experts to apply to be part of the multidisciplinary team. The new guidelines, which should be finalized in 2027, will complement existing WHO guidance on macronutrient intake.

“WHO is now turning its attention to more food-based guidance, and this will be the first WHO food-based dietary guidelines. This is to respond to the growing interest of member states in food-based guidance,” Dr. Moez Sanaa, unit head of standards and scientific advice, department of nutrition and food safety at WHO, tells Nutrition Insight.

“The guidelines will take into account the evidence related to benefits, harms and other contextual factors. This work will consider nutrition but also other aspects such as microbiological and chemical contaminants, which will be supported by risk-benefit assessment approaches. The aim is to support member states in their efforts to promote healthier, safer and more sustainable diets.”

The guidelines will be developed according to WHO’s guideline development process, in which an international multidisciplinary group of experts convenes to serve on the guideline development group (GDG).

The GDG’s conclusions and recommendations will be based on reviewed food-based evidence and models developed by a risk-benefit assessment technical group (RBAG). The GDG will create guidelines that include the most relevant recommendations and contextual information to help policymakers in their decision-making.  

Macronutrient intake and policy actions
WHO aims to support member states in prioritizing healthier, safer and more sustainable diets through macronutrient intake and policy actions, school activities and events promoting healthy diets. Another goal of the guidelines is to provide scientific advice to the Codex Alimentarius via joint FAO and WHO programs like the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and Joint Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment.

“Member states can play an active role in the guideline development process by providing feedback during the public consultation. Once the upcoming guidelines are released, we expect the recommendations and contextual information in the guidelines to aid policymakers and program managers of Member States in developing measures for achieving healthier, safer and more sustainable diets through a range of public health policy actions and intervention programs,” says Sanaa.

Eventually, experts selected for the guidelines team will be divided into two groups to develop specifications on the optimal intake of animal-source foods and plant-based alternatives.

The ideal consumption levels of animal-source foods to facilitate healthy diets is an ongoing topic and stirs fierce debate. While animal-source foods are good sources of highly bioavailable protein, vitamins and minerals, their consumption has been implicated in diet-related non-communicable disease (NCD) risk.

On the other hand, plant-based foods are linked to lower diet-related NCDs but can create nutrient deficiencies when the diet exclusively consists of these foods. According to the WHO, the role of optimal intake of animal-source foods in healthy diets should be explored in the context of plant food alternatives. These animal-source foods should be considered using innovative, “evidence-informed approaches.” 

Objective advisory role
The chosen experts will individually contribute to WHO’s future guidelines and will not represent a government, institution or other organization. Healthy diets protect against malnutrition, NCDs such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and foodborne disease caused by physical, chemical or biological hazards.

The entire process is expected to take between two and three years. Candidates will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face at least twice during the process, and the rest will be carried out via virtual meetings.

Meanwhile, WHO states that the long-term use of non-sugar sweeteners does not have long-term benefits in reducing body weight and may have undesirable effects, such as the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and premature mortality in adults. Some experts find the supporting evidence insufficient.

In addition, the WHO global report on sodium intake reduction claims the world is off-track to reach its global target of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025, which may jeopardize millions of lives. 

By Inga de Jong