Guidance for Healthier Eating in Uruguay
Uruguay faces growing food and nutrition challenges, with overweight rates above the regional average. According to FAO’s 2016 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, in 2013 overweight among children under 5 reached 10.5 percent, compared with a regional average of 7.1 percent. Among adults, the prevalence of overweight reached 61.7 percent, while obesity stood at 26.7 percent.
This context was compounded by a high consumption of ultra-processed products. At 149.5 kg per capita per year, Uruguay ranked fourth in the region, above the average for Latin America and the Caribbean, with an upward annual trend.
Although food and nutrition issues had historically been addressed by different institutions, it was essential to coordinate efforts and build a common tool to guide policies, programmes, and health promotion actions.
In 2015, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), through its National Nutrition Programme, requested technical assistance from FAO to update and reissue the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for the Uruguayan Population, originally published in 2005.
The process involved coordinated interinstitutional work, the collection and updating of information, and technical support from regional consultants and FAO Technical Officers, as well as from UNICEF and PAHO. As a result, Uruguay developed new Dietary Guidelines, adapted to the country’s nutritional, cultural, and environmental challenges.
The Guidelines propose a vision of a healthy and sustainable food system. They revalue home-cooked meals based on natural or minimally processed foods and recognize their contribution to cultural identity. At the same time, they warn about the effects of industrialized food and ultra-processed products on health and the environment.
They also emphasize that eating is much more than consuming nutrients: food should be tasty, shared, and enjoyable. The Guidelines also promote physical activity as an inseparable part of a healthy life.
The publication of the Guidelines marked a first stage. Their implementation presents the challenge of bringing them closer to the entire population and incorporating them into public and institutional strategies, such as food provision in educational, workplace, and sports settings, as well as in food production and environmental care. They also invite people to reconnect with cooking, home-cooked food, and the transmission of food knowledge to new generations.
Link of interest:
Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for the Uruguayan Population (2022 update)