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Nutrition & Dietetics vocabulary · Food Labels and Guidelines

Dietary guidelines

Meaning in nutrition & dietetics, with examples

nounCommon term

In nutrition & dietetics, dietary guidelines means: Official, evidence-based recommendations from a government or health authority on what the population should eat to stay healthy and reduce the risk of disease.

In Turkish: beslenme rehberi, beslenme önerileri

How it is used

Examples are the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the UK's Eatwell Guide and the Turkey Dietary Guidelines (TÜBER). They are often shown as a plate or a pyramid. Professionals say a diet is 'in line with', 'meets' or 'exceeds' the guidelines.

Example sentences

  1. Most teenagers in the survey ate far less fruit and vegetables than the dietary guidelines recommend.

  2. The school menu was updated to follow the national dietary guidelines.

Common collocations

  • national dietary guidelines
  • follow dietary guidelines
  • in line with the guidelines
  • food-based dietary guidelines
  • balanced dietA way of eating that includes a variety of foods from all the main food groups in suitable amounts, so that the body gets the energy and nutrients it needs.
  • food groupA category of foods with similar nutrients, such as vegetables, fruit, grains, protein foods and dairy, used in guidelines to describe a balanced diet.
  • RDARecommended Dietary Allowance: the average daily intake of a nutrient that is enough to meet the needs of nearly all healthy people (about 97–98%) of a given age and sex.
  • daily valueA reference amount of a nutrient used on US Nutrition Facts labels. The percent daily value (%DV) shows how much one serving provides toward a typical day's needs.

More terms: Food Labels and Guidelines

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.