Official name

Dietary guidelines for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Publication year

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines approved their food-based dietary guidelines in 2006.

Process and stakeholders

The development of the dietary guidelines was led by the Ministry of Health and Environment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Education, the Bureau of Standards, the Bureau of Consumer Affairs and the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, the FAO, the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama and the Pan American Health Organization.

The guidelines are endorsed by the country’s Cabinet.

Intended audience

They are directed at the healthy population over the age of 2 years.

Food guide

The food guide used by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a breadfruit divided into seven vertical segments of different sizes representing the recommended consumption of seven food groups: staples, vegetables, fruits, legumes, food from animals, fats and oils, sugars and sweeteners.

Messages

• Eat a variety of foods from the foods groups in the breadfruit.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables every day.
• Reduce fats and oils by cutting back on fatty, oily and greasy foods.
• Reduce the intake of sugar: use less sugar, sweet foods and drinks.
• When cooking, use less salt and salted seasonings; eat less salted foods and snacks.
• Water is essential; drink it several times a day.
• If you use alcohol do so sparingly both in drinking and in food preparation.
• Get moving! Increase physical activity daily.