Nutrition Agenda Research Articles

Enabling environment and challenges for UN joint programming to strengthen nutrition: A multi-country survey in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal.

The United Nations plays an important role in supporting governments to implement nutrition policies and accelerate progress. The development of a common UN nutrition agenda and joint programming are two crucial aspects to improve complementarities and synergies to maximize the nutritional impact. The objective was to identify the success factors and challenges during the planning process of the UN common nutrition agenda in three different contexts. This is a qualitative study, conducted in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal between 2016 and 2018. The data was collected using an orientation kit developed by the UN Network which includes an inventory of UN nutrition actions, individual interviews, and consensus workshops. A total of 32 nutrition focal points from UN agencies participated in the study. In all countries, UN nutrition interventions were concentrated in areas with the highest number of stunted. Most of these actions were aligned with the priorities of nutrition policies and were complementary. Governance actions were mainly oriented towards sector governance. Key success of joint nutrition programming by UN includes commitment of country director and technicians, functional UN Network, participation of field-level stakeholders and strengthening of information between UN agencies. Certain prerequisites such as the existence of nutrition policy, stakeholder and action mapping, inventory of UN nutrition actions, situation analysis contributed to the formulation of a common nutrition agenda at country level. Among the challenges, we note effective implementation of joint programs to strengthen complementarity; diversity of beneficiary targeting strategies between sectors; low mobilization of resources; lack of coordination intra and inter agencies; understaffing; strengthening partnership and multisectoral accountability; ownership of the common nutrition agenda by all agencies. The development of common nutrition agenda and joint programs would maximize the nutritional impact in the country level.

Policy framework that addresses malnutrition in Namibia: A retrospective qualitative review.

Although Namibia has made strides in improving the policy enabling environment, eradication of malnutrition is still elusive. This review was aimed at determining the extent to which food and nutrition-related policies in Namibia address malnutrition. This study used a qualitative approach by retrospectively analysing policy frameworks that address malnutrition in Namibia from 1991 to 2022. The analysis employed the policy triangle framework to elucidate the contextual factors, content, actors and process involved in the policy development. Moreover, a comparative analysis of Namibian policies and those of other southern African countries was undertaken. The review showed that there is a considerable degree of coherence in policy goals and strategies to address malnutrition despite parallel coordination structures. Policy process involved limited consultations with local communities which might have jeopardised the formulation of community problem-tailored interventions, ownership and participation in policy implementation. There is a strong political commitment to the eradication of malnutrition in Namibia. The Office of the Prime Minister played a leading role in policy development. Influential actors such as the UN agencies elevated the nutrition agenda. Further, the Namibian policy framework was generally similar to those of other southern African countries. The review showed that Namibia has relevant and comprehensive policies to address malnutrition, however, contextual factors indicated high levels of malnutrition still exist in the communities. Further research is needed to understand the barriers and enablers to optimal nutrition for children under five years in Namibia.

Anaemia in adolescent women: A priority for the nutrition agenda in Mexico. A comparison of data from the ENSANUT 2012 and 2018–2019 surveys

The risk of anaemia in adolescence increases due to accelerated growth. This study aims to: (1) estimate the prevalence of anaemia in 2012 and 2018-2019 (Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutricion - ENSANUT [n = 5841 in 2012 and n = 2380 in 2018-2019]) in non-pregnant, Mexican adolescent women aged 12-19 years, and the changes in prevalence over this period according to sociodemographic, health and nutrition characteristics; (2) estimate the associations between anaemia and sociodemographic, health and nutrition characteristics in each year and overall, in non-pregnant Mexican adolescent women. Anaemia was defined as capillary haemoglobin <12 g/dL. The distribution of characteristics and their changes between 2012 and 2018-2019 were described. The covariate-adjusted prevalence of anaemia in 2012 and 2018-2019 and the changes over that period were estimated from a multiple log-binomial regression model and the factors associated with anaemia were assessed in each survey year and in both years combined. The prevalence of anaemia was 7.7% in 2012 and 13.1% in 2018-2019 (69% increase, Prevalence Ratio: PR = 1.69; 95%CI: 1.35, 2.13). The covariate-adjusted prevalence of anaemia increased from 6.9% to 10.5% in the overall population (PR = 1.53, 95%CI: 1.19, 1.96), and increased considerably in the age group 12-14 years (PR = 1.94, 95%CI: 1.36, 2.75), and in the northern region (PR = 3.68, 95%CI: 2.55, 5.32). Those receiving iron supplements or school breakfasts did not register a significant increase. A higher household wellbeing status and older age were associated with a lower prevalence of anaemia. Anaemia in non-pregnant adolescent women continues to be a public health problem. To improve the development and health of adolescent women in Mexico and to pave the way to a healthy pregnancy for the next generation, the causes of anaemia should be identified.

A net-map analysis of stakeholder connections and influence in agriculture-for-nutrition policymaking in Ghana

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture approaches can improve farming household incomes, food security, and diet quality. Adopting nutrition-sensitive agriculture approaches means placing a nutrition lens on the policies, strategies, and investments in the food and agriculture sector without detracting from the sector's traditional goals of food supply. To understand the processes involved in developing agriculture-for-nutrition policies in Ghana, this paper examined the influence of stakeholders' interconnections using a visual participatory mapping technique, Virtual Net-Map. Three convening platforms were identified for stakeholder engagement: the Agriculture Sector Working Group, the National Agricultural Technical Committee, and the Public-Private Partnership Dialogue Platform. Sixty stakeholders with 188 connections were recognised for their involvement in agriculture-for-nutrition policymaking in Ghana. Fourteen stakeholders, twelve from government organizations and two from donor and development partner organizations, were identified as the most influential. International stakeholders (donors and development partners) were critical in funding agriculture-for-nutrition policymaking activities. While all stakeholders had a joint mandate to ensure policies were developed, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture led the policy development process in Ghana's food and agriculture sector. Moreover, government stakeholders notably received more support from other stakeholders for funding, advocacy, dissemination, and technical assistance than the support they offered. Generally, stakeholders were more engaged in technical assistance activities and least involved in disseminating agriculture-nutrition information in the agriculture-for-nutrition policymaking process. The information on stakeholders' interconnections and influence showed areas that had the most and least stakeholder engagements, which will enable potential stakeholders to identify niche(s) to support the nutrition agenda in Ghana's food and agriculture sector and help Ghana meet the Global Nutrition Targets and the Sustainable Development Goals for 2025 and 2030, respectively. In addition, the evidence presented on Ghana's agriculture-for-nutrition policymaking network can lead to better ways of centralizing nutrition in agricultural policies and designing initiatives that encompass most, if not all, relevant stakeholders. Key words: Agriculture, Nutrition, Policymaking, Net-Map, Influence, Connections, Ghana, Nutrition-sensitive agriculture

A Further Decade of Helping to Drive the Global Nutrition Agenda

A Further Decade of Helping to Drive the Global Nutrition Agenda

Developing effective data visualization tools for nutrition: reflections on the design of a Nutrition Scorecard in Nigeria.

There has been a growing number of nutrition data visualization tools (DVTs) to monitor progress towards targets and encourage action. However, there are few documented examples of how to go about designing effective DVTs for nutrition-related audiences. In this Open Letter, we summarize reflections from collaborative efforts between the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and the Data for Decisions to Expand Nutrition Transformation project (DataDENT) in 2019-2021 to design a sub-national nutrition scorecard that aims to hold Nigeria's 36 Governors accountable to nutrition commitments. Our reflections add to an emerging body of work advocating for DVT design processes to develop a specific theory of change for how the DVT will influence target groups and achieve aims. Once the target audience is identified, it is important to create a strong engagement strategy to ensure that the DVT promotes constructive action. We also highlight the importance of identifying actionable indicators through participatory processes. We hope that these insights about collaborative DVT design can be applied by countries and institutions who want to develop similar tools to advance the nutrition agenda in their context.

Enablers and Barriers of Zinc Fortification; Experience from 10 Low- and Middle-Income Countries with Mandatory Large-Scale Food Fortification.

Adequate zinc nutrition is important for child growth, neurodevelopment, immune function, and normal pregnancy outcomes. Seventeen percent of the global population is estimated to be at risk for inadequate zinc intake. However, zinc is not included in the fortification standards of several low- and middle-income countries with mandatory fortification programs, despite data suggesting a zinc deficiency public health problem. To guide policy decisions, we investigated the factors enabling and impeding the inclusion of zinc as a fortificant by conducting in-depth interviews with 17 key informants from 10 countries. Findings revealed the decision to include zinc was influenced by guidance from international development partners and enabled by the assessment of zinc deficiency, mandatory regional food fortification standards which included zinc, the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for zinc fortification, and the low cost of zinc compound commonly used. Barriers included the absence of zinc from regional fortification standards, limited available data on the efficacy and effectiveness of zinc fortification, and the absence of national objectives related to the prevention of zinc deficiency. To promote zinc fortification there is a need to put the prevention of zinc deficiency higher on the international nutrition agenda and to promote large-scale food fortification as a key deficiency mitigation strategy.

Nutrition agenda during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

This review describes the risk factors of the nutrition crisis in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and suggests precision nutrition against long-term psychological and physiological stress The mandatory quarantine and the social distancing are associated with an interruption of the lifestyle routine, resulting in psychological (i e , boredom) and physiological stress The stress with multiple causes and forms induces over-compensation of energy-dense food, such as sugary comfort food, and is defined as food craving because carbohydrates positively affect the psychological stability with serotonin secretion The consumption of foods that promote an immune response against viral infections (vitamins & minerals;Cu, folate, Fe, Se, Zn, and Vit A, B6, B12, C, and D), reduce inflammatory cytokines (w-3 fatty acids, Vit D, fibers, and Mg), contain antioxidants (beta-carotene, Vit E, C, Se, and phenolics), and sleep-inducing proteins (serotonin, melatonin, and milk products) is essential In addition, a reduced Vit D deficiency in winter due to less time spent outdoors under quarantine has been reported to be associated with viral infections The case fatality rate of COVID-19 was significantly dependent on age, sex, race, and underlying health condition To prevent malnutrition and cachexia in elderly people, weight loss and muscle wasting should be monitored and controlled Inadequate protein intake, sedentary lifestyle, and inflammation are significant risk factors for sarcopenia Moreover, relatively high intakes of fat or carbohydrate compared to low protein intake result in abdominal obesity, which is defined as sarcopenic obesity Keeping the food-safety guidelines of COVID-19, this study recommends the consumption of fresh and healthy foods and avoiding sugar, fat, salt, alcohol, and commercially frozen foods

Umami: An Alternative Japanese Approach to Reducing Sodium While Enhancing Taste Desirability

COVID-19 has highlighted the underlying global burden from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and the lack of resiliency in health systems to tackle highly preventable risk factors, which have left populations vulnerable to acute health crises. The persistent issue of unhealthy behaviors, particularly those related to a high-sodium diet, suggests inadequate policy attention and insufficient funding for public health and behavioral research. This year, Japan will host the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit 2021. The summit is being held in the era of COVID-19, offering a historic opportunity to make a difference on the global health agenda for food and nutrition and to reaffirm the global commitment to prevent future health crises by addressing the growing burden of NCDs and building better prepared and more resilient health systems. This perspective article suggests that we, global health researchers and decision-makers, should rethink the value of using “Umami” substances as candidates for a practical salt-reducing alternative that originated in Japan (while maintaining the affordability, accessibility, availability, and desirability of healthy food). Reduced salt intake will help address the global syndemic of COVID-19 pandemic and high rates of hypertension, heart diseases, diabetes, and other NCDs. By addressing these issues, it will make countries more resilient to future pandemic threats.

Precision Nutrition Impact on Health-Related Behavior Change in Service Members

Abstract Objectives 1) Examine the effectiveness of gene-based nutrition counseling on health-related behaviors in service members as measured by body weight, body mass index, blood glucose, lipids, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, % body fat, waist circumference, and blood pressure; 2) Evaluate the feasibility of a digital application to accurately capture diet, activity, and sleep behaviors; 3) Describe military-unique characteristics in demographics, diet, and lifestyle for Northwest Army and Southwest Air Force cohorts Methods In this prospective RCT, a baseline genomic profile built from 70 genes/80 variants following amplicon sequencing on a MiSeq platform is augmented by serum biomarkers specific to diet-related chronic disease risk (metabolic syndrome and vitamin D deficiency) for each subject. Treatment group receives gene-based nutrition counseling; control group receives evidence-based nutrition pamphlets. A digital app is used for real-time health data capture, validated by in-person RD interviews. After the initial 6 weeks, both groups use study resources independently and return for final body composition, BP, and serum biomarkers at 12 weeks. Results Preliminary findings: Northwest cohort has enrolled 26 of 75 active duty soldiers. Sample has slightly more males (54%), mean age 29.6 years, 64% married, 77% Caucasian, non-Hispanic, and 60% report some college. About 50% lost an average of 15 lbs to join the Army. Mean anthropometrics for females: BMI 27.4, 30.3% body fat, waist circ 32.2 in; for males: BMI 30.7, 28% body fat, waist circ 40 in. High variant presence noted for obesity and hypertension. Signals of abnormal biomarkers are insignificant although 60% of sample has baseline serum vitamin D less than 30 ng/mL. Conclusions This initiative has begun to advance the precision nutrition agenda in the military setting where advanced practice RNs and RDs will soon use genomic risk data to guide diet and lifestyle counseling to support personal and military readiness and optimize mission performance. Funding Sources TriService Nursing Research Program.

Primary health care and nutrition.

Globally, dietary factors are responsible for about one in five deaths. In many low- and middle-income countries different forms of malnutrition (including obesity and undernutrition) can co-exist within the same population. This double burden of malnutrition is placing a disproportional strain on health systems, slowing progress towards universal health coverage (UHC). Poor nutrition also impedes the growth of local economies, ultimately affecting the global economy. In this article, we argue that comprehensive primary health care should be used as a platform to address the double burden of malnutrition. We use a conceptual framework based on human rights and the Astana Declaration on primary health care to examine existing recommendations and propose guidance on how policy-makers and providers of community-oriented primary health care can strengthen the role of nutrition within the UHC agenda. Specifically, we propose four thematic areas for action: (i) bridging narratives and strengthening links between the primary health care and the nutrition agenda with nutrition as a human rights issue; (ii) encouraging primary health-care providers to support local multisectoral action on nutrition; (iii) empowering communities and patients to address unhealthy diets; and (iv) ensuring the delivery of high-quality promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative nutrition interventions. For each theme we summarize the available strategies, policies and interventions that can be used by primary health-care providers and policy-makers to strengthen nutrition in primary health care and thus the UHC agenda.

Preconception nutrition: building advocacy and social movements to stimulate action.

Action to improve preconception nutrition is a collective, societal responsibility. We believe that the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) society is ideally placed to facilitate the development of a global agenda for preconception nutrition which recognises the societal importance of nutrition for young women and men, and supports them in optimising their nutritional status for the benefit of the next generation. In this paper, we outline four key actions that can be taken by the members of DOHaD's international society located across 67 countries, and nine regional societies, to demonstrate this leadership role. The recommended actions to place preconception nutrition at the top of national and regional agendas include (i) continuing to build the scientific evidence, (ii) monitoring of progress made by governments and commercial companies, (iii) developing advocacy coalitions that unite individuals and organisations around common policy options and (iv) working with partners to develop an emotive and empowering preconception nutrition awareness campaign. Collectively, these actions hold the potential to develop into a preconception nutrition social movement to invoke high-level government support and across-sector policy action, while raising public demand for action and engaging corporate actors.

The 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health: 50 Years Later.

ABSTRACTThe 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health (WHC) was a landmark conference that influenced the nutrition agenda for decades. This commentary details events that led to moving the WHC recommendations to implementation and action. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, the National School Lunch Program, and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are used as examples to illustrate some overarching factors that are critical to unraveling the complex process of science and evidence linked to action.

Narratives of nutrition: Alternative explanations for international nutrition practice

International public health nutrition is an arm of international development that has recently gained visibility and traction. With growing numbers of actors involved, there are however multiple potential perspectives on what nutrition action means in practice. This empirical study aims to provide fresh insight and a stimulus to debate around research and practice in the world of international nutrition, exploring through literature review, interviews and political and social theory the questions: How has the discourse underpinning nutrition policy and practice evolved internationally over time; and how have changing narratives and interests affected the global agenda for nutrition?&#x0D; A dominant discourse in international nutrition currently is of the need for multi-sectoral action for the reduction of child stunting. The paper traces the evolution of this narrative through analysis of conflict among paradigms and among the actors that propagate them; the role of discursive strategies and framings as ‘strategically ambiguous’ to bring diverse actors together, though with sometimes contradictory actions in pursuit of a common stated goal; and the ‘rendering technical’ of complex, often politically-charged processes in order to more simply frame a response.&#x0D; There are practical implications of these divergent philosophies, ambiguous language, and contingent knowledge for the nutrition community and its actions to reduce the global burden of malnutrition. Problematizing nutrition issues in certain ways has implications for what is done to address them, so policy makers and practitioners should reflect on the limits that the ascendant paradigms, popular framings, and dominant forms of knowledge might impose on what may be done in their name.

Stunting: a multisector challenges and unfinished nutrition agenda

It was a great news that during the President election campaign, both President and Vice President candidates addressed a stunting problem during the debate. It shows that stunting is placed as national priority of nutrition problems. Stunting is part of a wider nutrition crises in Indonesia: wasting, anemia and double-burden of malnutrition. According to the 2018 National Health Survey (RISKESDAS), 30.8 percent of Indonesian children under 5 years of age were stunted (almost 8 million children), 17.7 percent were underweight, 10.2 percent were wasted (low weight-for-height). Although the prevalence of stunting declined significantly from the 2013 (37.2%), the stunting rates remain unacceptably high. A child that is wasted faces double the risk of mortality associated with stunting. Even, a child that is both stunted and wasted faces a higher risk. Frequent episodes of wasting increase the risk of stunting.

Brand Horlicks in India: an epitome or an epitaph?

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on the insights from the brand journey of Horlicks in India and evolution of the health food drinks (HFD) category.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explores the key reasons for the slowdown in the HFD category and the descent of brand Horlicks in India. It follows the strategic decisions and actions that Horlicks’ parent GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare took over its journey of close to 100 years. It also highlights the cardinal mistakes that it made in distribution networks, brand extensions, etc. and how these could have possibly eroded the brand equity of Horlicks.FindingsHorlicks as a brand made many strategic errors. It frequently and needlessly fiddled with unrelated categories in contrast to its nutrition agenda. It unnecessarily spent on developing brand extensions in unhealthy categories that customers did not value or relate to. It was strategically blinded by the dominance in two geographies and continued to be under-invested in distribution networks in others. In addition, it took too long to read the writing on the wall in terms of growing consumer consciousness about the presence of sugar and fats in health foods. Even when clear signals were available of the impending slowdown the HFD category faced, despite being the market leader in the HFD segment, it showed limited urgency to foster an innovation to bolster the category.Practical implicationsCompanies need to focus on a sharp business model and not try to be everything for everyone. Companies that gain valuable insight of what its customers value and design their business model to satisfy these requirements have higher chances of surviving through the weft and warp of time.Originality/valueThe paper considers the context of the highly dynamic fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry in India. It is an industry where for some of the categories like HFD, the brand equity of the mother brand may or may not have a rub-off effect on brand extensions, or dominance in a particular geography may not translate to similar dominance in another geography owing to heterogeneity factor. In such a scenario, brands such as Horlicks, which do not have a consistent and coherent strategy, find it difficult to grow their market share or the category. It provides insights into the common pitfalls in brand development strategy and how it can be avoided.

Advocacy coalitions and the transfer of nutrition policy to Zambia.

Stunted growth in children and multisectoral action to address it are dominant ideas in the international nutrition community today, and this study finds that these ideas are increasingly evident over time in nutrition policy in Zambia, with stunting largely displacing other framings of nutrition. This study is based on key informant interviews (70 interviews with 61 interviewees), policy document review, and social network mapping, with iterative data collection and analysis taking place over 6 years (2011–2016). Analysis was based on two established political science theories: policy transfer theory and the Advocacy Coalition Framework. Policy changes in Zambia are shown to result from the international community’s nutrition agenda, transferred to national policy through the normative promotion of certain ways of understanding the issue of malnutrition, largely propagated through advocacy, technical assistance and funding. With its focus on multisectoral action to reduce stunting, the recent nutrition policy narrative impinges directly on an existing food security narrative as it attempts to alter agriculture policy away from maize reliance. The nutrition policy sub-system in Zambia is therefore split between an international coalition promoting action on child stunting, and a national coalition focused on food security and hunger, with implications for both sides on progressing a coherent policy agenda. This study finds that it is possible to understand policy processes for nutrition more fully than has so far been achieved in much nutrition literature through the application of multiple political science theories. These theories allow the generalization of findings from this case study to assess their relevance in other contexts: the study ultimately is about the transfer of policy being explained by the presence of advocacy coalitions and their different beliefs, resources and power, and these concepts can be investigated wherever the nutrition system reaches down from international to national level.

Development and challenges to breastfeeding in sub-Saharan Africa

Since there is no doubt concerning the superiority of breastfeeding compared to other forms of infant feeding, the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months and continued breastfeeding up to two years and beyond are again embraced at the highest global nutrition agenda. The latest is the United Nations decade of action on nutrition 2016-2025, building on research results and the work by the World Health Organization (WHO) over the last two decades, and extensive societal, clinical, and academic discussions in the field of breastfeeding.While the discussion was about the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding around the millennium shift, the focus is on the most effective measures for the promotion and protection of breastfeeding. Contemporary breastfeeding rates are well behind the goals. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost all infants are breastfed, while exclusive breastfeeding is more seldom and not sufficient. Africa, being avast and diverse continent with amyriad of cultural practices, has had some shared attitudes ranging from the west to east regarding views on motherhood, body fluids, including milk, infant feeding, and responsible others.The region still faces high maternal HIV infection rates and high infant and child mortality rates. However, due to effective antiretroviral therapies, it is now possible and safe for women living with HIV to breastfeed their infants and to ensure them HIV-free survival. However, there is need for improvement regarding availability, compliance, and adherence to these drugs. Research gaps include the long-term effects of antiretroviral therapy on the growth, health, and development of the exposed children.

A look at the food and nutrition agenda over thirty years of the Unified Health System.

Food and nutrition are basic requirements for the promotion and protection of health. Nutrition monitoring and dietary recommendations are included in the mission of the Unified Health System (SUS, in its Portuguese acronym), as established by the Organic Health Law no. 8,080 of 1990. This article presents and discusses the food and nutrition agenda of the SUS and its interface with Food and Nutrition Security, its benchmarks, progress and challenges. This essay was guided by biographical and documentary research and, above all, by the experiences and perceptions of the authors, who, at various times and in various contexts, have been and continue to be actors of Brazil's food and nutrition agenda. We emphasise the idea of the SUS, with its accomplishments and shortcomings, as a living system derived from the technical, ethical and political commitments of its administrators, workers, academics and society as a whole. Thus, we seek to contribute to the debate about the Brazilian path to the construction of a public social welfare system committed to health and adequate nutrition as a human rights.

Applying a food processing-based classification system to a food guide: a qualitative analysis of the Brazilian experience.

The present paper aimed to identify the stakeholders, as well as their arguments and recommendations, in the debate on the application of a food processing-based classification system to the new Brazilian Food Guide. Qualitative approach; an analysis was made of documents resulting from the consultation conducted for the development of the new Brazilian Food Guide, which uses the NOVA classification for its dietary recommendations. A thematic matrix was constructed and the resulting themes represented the main points for discussion raised during the consultation. Brazil. Actors from academia, government and associations/unions/professional bodies/organizations related to the area of nutrition and food security; non-profit institutions linked to consumer interests and civil society organizations; organizations, associations and food unions linked to the food industry; and individuals. Four themes were identified: (i) conflicting paradigms; (ii) different perceptions about the role and need of individuals; (iii) we want more from the new food guide; and (iv) a sustainable guide. There was extensive participation from different sectors of society. The debate generated by the consultation revealed two main conflicting opinions: a view aligned with the interests of the food industry and a view of healthy eating which serves the interests of the population. The first group was against the adoption of a food processing-based classification system in a public policy such as the new Brazilian Food Guide. The second group, although mostly agreeing with the new food guide, argued that it failed to address some important issues related to the food and nutrition agenda in Brazil.