Data from household food budgetary surveys and regional,population-based, crosssectional studies show a declining trend inenergy intake in the last decades, also applicable to protein, fatand carbohydrate intakes in absolute terms. The pattern suggests alower fat content in the diet. Protein intake is 200% of therecommended level.

Spanish food patterns underwent dramatic changes between the 1960sand the 1980s, including an important increase in fat intake, up to44% energy intake from fat in the 1980s. The trend changed in the1990s, and current fat supply provides an average of 37% of energyintake. Main sources of fat in the Spanish diet are added fats forcooking (49% of total fat intake), especially olive oil; meat andmeat products (25%); and a lower percentage provided by milk anddairy products. Most saturated fatty acids are supplied by meats(30%) and dairy products (27%).

Rapid urbanisation processes and the growing proportion of females inthe active workforce have led to important changes in food patternsin the last decades. On the one hand, some changes had a positiveimpact, such as increasing variety in the diet and access to food;on the other hand, some changes moved the Spanish diet away from thetraditional Mediterranean food pattern.

Current food patterns evidence high consumption of animal products:meat, fish, milk and dairy products. It seems advisable to increaseconsumption of plant foods, particularly whole-grain cereals,potatoes and pulses. Intake of fruit and vegetables shows a shifttowards a greater consumption of processed foods rather than freshproducts, and overall a greater consumption would berecommended.

Therapeutic properties have been attributed to the diet since ancienttimes. Epidemiological evidence starting in the early 1960s supportsthe relationship between different dietary components, dietarybalance and the development of risk factors for prevalent chronicdiseases in Western societies. There is also evidence supporting theprotective effect of other components of the diet and lifestyle,like regular physical activity.

During the last two years, groups of Spanish experts in the field offood, nutrition and health sciences have been involved in theprocess of analysing each food group in Spanish food patterns undera standard format. For each food group, current level ofconsumption, trends and scientific evidence linking each particulargroup or its components with patterns of disease, risk factors orprotective effects have been determined from a public healthperspective.

Conclusions and recommendations for each food group, agreed underconsensus by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC)collaborative group of experts, are summarised and reflected in theFood Guide Pyramid presented in this paper.

The objective of this paper is to present the development of theNutritional objectives for the Spanish Population. Preparation ofdraft documents contributed by different working groups was followedby a consensus meeting held in Bilbao on 5–7 October 2000, hosted bythe Spanish Society of Community Nutrition and sponsored by theWorld Health Organisation.

Establishing nutritional guidelines was conducted by: (1) analysingcurrent food and nutritional data from nutritional surveys, forintermediate objectives; and (2) reviewing current scientificknowledge for final objectives. The objectives include intermediateand ultimate figures, and comprise percentage of energy frommacronutrients and fatty acids, fruit and vegetable consumption,frequency of sweets, physical activity and body mass index, folate,calcium, sodium, fluoride and iodine intake, dietary fibre,cholesterol, alcohol and duration of breastfeeding.

The nutritional objectives for the Spanish population create arational framework for the development of dietary guidelines andnutritional policies in Spain, within a Mediterranean context.

Iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) are an important problem in theworld. Some 760 million people suffer from goitre and 1600 millionare at risk. In Togo, a small West African country, the prevalenceof visible goitre in 6–12-year-old children was 21.6% and 5.3% intwo endemic regions in 1999. Goitre is considered endemic as itaffects one adult in five. UNICEF–Togo (United Nations Children'sFund) in co-operation with the Togolese government has implementeddifferent programmes with the aim of improving the survival anddevelopment of children and women and to defend and promotechildren's rights.

The aim of this paper is to describe the procedures followed and keyresults of a school-based nutrition education project implemented inTogo to prevent iodine deficiency disorders, by encouraging use ofiodised salt.

This paper focuses on the provision of adequate training in nutritioneducation to health and other community development workers fortheir improved performance and achievement. The difficultiesencountered and special care needed when dealing with low-income,chronically deprived communities are raised. A brief analysis ofpast and present trends in nutrition education is presented to showthe progress made from restricted, authoritative and not verysuccessful proposals to more comprehensive and participatoryapproaches. The need to train and update regional and field-levelpersonnel on the new approaches, theories and models offered bynutrition education is highlighted, but the scant availability ofresources for training activities may be a great limitation for thisundertaking. The contribution of educational, social, psychologicaland communication sciences, as well as marketing, in improving andbroadening the performance of health and nutrition education isrecognised. Some successful nutrition education projects,implemented in different regions, using various approaches, havemanaged to improve the nutrition situation of low-income groups andcould be used as good examples to be followed. Recommendations forimplementing nutrition education projects or activities need toconsider some prerequisites, such as good knowledge and analysis ofthe nutrition situation, careful selection of the strategies andmethods, careful planning and implementation, and clear definitionof the procedures and instruments for follow-up and evaluation.

Food transitions in history have been fast, violent processes in somecases, while on other occasions they have taken place slowly,overlapping the traditional food culture as food items are replacedby new ones. Despite the contribution of potato and maize toavoiding famine in Europe, the exclusive crop system caused seriousproblems. Main food transitions are currently taking place in Asia.Emerging economies face the dilemma of improving the health andwell-being of the population while avoiding excess and surplus. Thechallenge is twofold: on the one hand, to counteract the negativeeffects of food transitions and, on the other, to fight againsthunger and malnutrition.

Evidence suggests that the effect of fasting on performance is notuniform, but it is dependent on the basal nutritional status of thesubject. Breakfast consumption has a short-term effect in improvingselected learning skills, especially work memory. School breakfastprogrammes have a positive effect on the nutritional status ofchildren, on school attendance and probably on dropout rates. Theeffect of breakfast consumption on school performance depends on theinteraction between the programme, student characteristics(malnutrition) and school organisation. Unless the school settingguarantees a minimum quality standard, the benefits of breakfastconsumption will not be evident in performance in complex areas likelanguage or maths.

Background and objectives: Breakfast consumption is important fornutritional balance in all population groups. The objective of thispaper is to describe breakfast consumption patterns in Spanishchildren and young people.

In order to be successful, public health nutrition strategies requirethe active collaboration of all stakeholders in the promotion ofhealthy diet and lifestyle patterns. The food industry plays animportant role both in providing products that meet consumers' needsin terms of taste, convenience, quality, nutrition and value as wellas in communicating to consumers about the importance of goodnutrition, including the contribution of specific foods to abalanced diet. The food industry contributes to educational effortsregarding healthy diets and lifestyles both directly – throughproduct labelling, advertising, educational materials, on-linecommunications and information provided by Consumer Servicesdepartments – and indirectly, through active involvement andparticipation in educational programmes pursued in collaborationwith nutrition and health education authorities. Through ongoingdialogue with its consumers and research conducted on consumerknowledge and attitudes towards diet, the food industry can ensurethat communications developed are motivating and relevant toconsumers' lives. In this paper, the specific contribution of thefood industry will be illustrated through the promotion of healthyeating habits among children, focusing in particular on theimportance of the breakfast meal.