The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) has assessed whether the Directorate of Health’s consultation draft for dietary guidelines, dated 22 March 2024, covers the recommendations for nutrients for adults, including pregnant and lactating women.

The assignment is commissioned by the Directorate of Health, as part of their work in revising the national dietary guidelines, and VKM's calculations and assessments are based on the consultation draft. The new national dietary guidelines will be published August 15, in parallel with the publication of VKM's report.

It is important to emphasise that VKM's report and the conclusions presented below apply to the consultation draft for dietary guidelines, as they were on 22 March 2024. In response to VKM's work, the Directorate of Health has chosen to adjust some of the dietary guidelines so that critical nutrients will be better provided for in the revised dietary guidelines.

Main conclusion from VKM's report:

VKM concludes that a diet in line with the consultation draft for new dietary guidelines will probably be sufficient to cover the recommendations for most vitamins and minerals for most adults, with some exceptions.

The assessment includes two scenarios – low and high – based on the draft dietary guidelines. These two scenarios represent the lowest and highest amounts of the food groups covered by the draft dietary guidelines: low dietary guidance scenario and high dietary guidance scenario. VKM has only calculated the nutritional content in the foods included in the draft dietary guidelines, not for the total diet.

We have assessed whether the nutritional content is sufficient when following the suggested dietary guidelines, as presented in the draft from March. We conclude that adhering to these guidelines is likely to be sufficient to meet nutrient recommendations for most vitamins and minerals for most adults, if you follow a diet based on the highest amounts of the food groups in the draft dietary guidelines, says Anine Medin, scientific leader of the project team.

VKM's results show that the content of most of the included vitamins and minerals seems to be sufficient for women and men of all ages adhering to a diet in line with the high dietary guidance scenario. However, the content of vitamin D, calcium (only young adults), iron (only women of fertile age), zinc (only men), and selenium will probably be too low for a smaller proportion of women and men consuming a diet corresponding to the high scenario.

“It is important to clarify that the draft dietary guidelines do not specify whether one should consume the lowest amount of all the food groups, or the highest amount of all the food groups. In practice, people following the dietary guidelines will probably find themselves between the low and high scenario for the food groups. If you consume less from one food group, you will probably consume more from another,” says Medin.

The calculations show that in a diet consistent with the low dietary scenario, the content of several nutrients is lower than in the high scenario. The content of riboflavin, calcium, iron (only for women of fertile age), zinc, iodine, and selenium will probably be too low for a significant proportion of women and men following a diet corresponding to the low scenario. Furthermore, the content of vitamin D, vitamin B6, folate, potassium, and iron (only for men) may be insufficient for a smaller proportion of women and men.

Pregnant and lactating women are in a unique position because they have higher nutrient requirements than the rest of the population.

How the calculations and assessments were conducted

VKM has developed two dietary guidance scenarios based on the amounts of various food groups, specified in the consultation draft or provided as additional information from the Norwegian Directorate of Health while working on this report. For instance, the low scenario includes 500 grams of fruit and vegetables, while the high scenario includes 800 grams. The low scenario does not include eggs, cheese, or red meat, while the high scenario includes one egg per day, two slices of cheese per day, and 350 grams of red meat per week. Both scenarios also include, for example, 90 grams of whole grains per day. The selection of foods from the food groups for these scenarios is based on the wording of the draft dietary guidelines, and insights from national dietary surveys.

“Our task was to assess the extent to which the draft dietary guidelines would cover the needs for nutrients. Most groups, except for women over 50 years in the high scenario, need more energy (food) than what is covered by the draft dietary guidelines. However, we have not developed scenarios for the total diet. The scenarios, for example, do not include sweets, white bread, cream, or seafood other than fish. This means that most groups should consume more than what is included in these dietary guidance scenarios - lactating women, for example, may need up to twice as much energy as the low scenario provides,” says Medin.

To assess the probability that these scenarios contain sufficient nutrients, VKM has evaluated them against the nutrient recommendations. VKM has calculated and assessed the content of vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, and copper.

The new national dietary guidelines will be presented during Arendalsuka, and the event will be streamed (in Norwegian language): Dette bør du spise! - Arendalsuka.

VKM provides independent scientific assessments of matters relevant to the environment and food safety. VKM does not give advice or take a position on how risks should be managed, but can assess the consequences of various courses of action.