Member Matters
Research Feature: What are healthy diets? Joint statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization
20 November 2024
With the increasing focus in scientific literature and the media, there are various definitions and perspectives on what comprises healthy diets and how they can be achieved while protecting the planet.
In a newly released document, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have formulated principles of what constitutes healthy diets. The principles provide the foundation for designing policies aimed at improving diets and assessing their healthiness.
Healthy diets need to be:
- Adequate: Providing enough essential nutrients to prevent deficiencies and promote health, without excess.
- Balanced: Ensuring energy intake and sources (i.e., fats, carbohydrates, and proteins) are balanced to promote healthy weight, growth, and disease prevention.
- Moderate: Limiting the consumption of foods, nutrients, or other compounds associated with detrimental health effects.
- Diverse: Including a wide variety of nutritious foods within and across food groups to ensure nutrient adequacy and the consumption of other health-promoting substances.
According to the joint document, moderation also involves avoiding or limiting the consumption of foods that may have negative health effects, particularly if consumed in high quantities. This includes foods high in saturated fat and free sugars, as well as red and processed meats and highly processed or “ultra-processed” foods (UPF).
The document cites a large and growing body of evidence indicating that the consumption of highly processed foods, described as UPF by the NOVA classification scheme, is associated with negative health outcomes. These include risks of premature mortality, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and impaired mental, respiratory, and gastrointestinal health.
A further statement is made regarding the composition of UPFs many of which are high in fats, sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners (the term “artificial” is used), sodium, or food additives, and have undergone processing that alters the structure of the original food ingredients. Evidence is referenced that suggests that the associations with negative health effects go beyond their fat, sodium, and sugar content. An acceptable level of UPF consumption has not yet been defined, and further research is needed to understand the relationships between UPF intakes and disease outcomes.
The timing of the release of this document coincides with an announcement by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) which is halfway through the review of the Australia Dietary Guidelines. The NHMRC is commissioning a series of new evidence reviews that include reference to ultra-processed food and links to a range of negative health outcomes, including anxiety and depression. The new evidence reviews will take up to 12 months to complete, so a draft of the revised Australian Dietary Guidelines is unlikely for comment until early 2026. This will be the main point that industry can provide input into the review, for which AFGC will be closely engaged.
Reference: What are Healthy Diets? Joint Statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Geneva: World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2024. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd2223en. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
