Abstract

The Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (GABA) are a national instrument of nutritional education aimed at the general population. In the context of the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases, related to inadequate diets, they seek to contribute to achieving better food standards. In the American context, with a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, GABAs are part of a set of government policies to fight against these problems. The objective of this trial was to perform a comparative analysis of GABA in nine American countries: Canada, Chile, the United States, Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Seven general dimensions were selected for comparison: policy, methodology, participation, messages, sociocultural aspects, environmental aspects and, implementation and evaluation-, based on the recommendations for the elaboration of the GABA of international organizations (FAO-WHO). The results revealed gaps in the guidelines of the countries studied, highlighting Brazil as one of those that pay the most attention to participation and the incorporation of sociocultural factors in the production of its document. While Chile avoids elements such as gender, access and availability, cultural diversity, sustainability and food environments. With dietary guidelines that barely address the FAO-WHO proposal, it is expected that in a future update, the proposed dimensions will be considered in a development format based on citizen, intersectoral and expert participation, strengthening sociocultural and environmental aspects. Arch Latinoam Nutr 2021; 71(2): 149-160.