Italy
Food & Nutrition 3.2 Go Global
Guidelines
The Italian Ministry of Health uses the Italian Food Pyramid (Italian: Piramide Alimentare Italiana)
Beginning from the base, the divisions are fruit, water, vegetables, bread, biscotti, potatoes, rice andpasta, meat, eggs, fish, legumes, cold cut meat, milk, dairy, oils and fat, sweets, alcoholic beverage
Along the edges of the pyramid are triangles representing physical activity. The pyramid is intended to represent the variety of foods eaten over an entire week, averaged into daily portions.
Food groups are quantified in standard portions and weight.
Recommended is a varying diet, consisting mainly of plant foods.
Bread, grains, rice, potatoes and/or pasta: 2 – 4 portions per day.
Fruit: 3 – 5 portions per day.
Meat, poultry, fish and legumes: 1 – 2 portions per day.
Milk, yoghurt and other dairy products: 1 – 2 portions per day. It is preferable to choose low fat milk, and cheeses with lesser fat content.
Wine: men: 450 ml per day; women: 350 ml per day; 0,6 g alcohol/kg body weight per day.
Saturated fat-acids: 7 – 10% of daily energy intake.
Salt: < 6 g per day.
Sugar: 15% of daily energy intake.
Comparing the guidelines to the food habits, it is obvious that they are quite the same. Italians eatlots of vegetables, fruit and grain products, which are food groups that are highly recommended.Meat, fish and/or poultry are usually side dishes and not the main product, as it is in the Netherlands.They are recommended, but not in high amounts.
What is notable about the pyramid are the images of physical activity that are drawn along theedges. This shows that sports and working out are promoted by the government, something that isvery important for a population that has an elaborate diet.
References:
http://www.eufic.org/article/en/expid/food-based-dietary-guidelines-in-europe/
