Objective: To evaluate Ireland's food-based dietary guidelines and highlight priorities for revision. Design: Evaluation with stakeholder input. Energy and nutrient intake goals most appropriate for Ireland were determined. Advice from Ireland's food guide was translated into 4 d food intake patterns representing age and gender groups from 5 to 511 years. Nutritional content of the food patterns was compared with identified goals and appropriateness of food advice was noted. Feedback from stakeholders was obtained on portion size of foods within the Bread, Cereal and Potato group and of portion descriptors for meat and cereal foods. Setting: Government agency/community. Subjects: General population aged 51 years, dietitians/nutritionists (n 44) and 1011 consumers. Results: Goals were identified for energy, macronutrients, fibre, Fe, Ca and vitamin D. Goals not achieved by the food patterns included energy, total fat, saturated fat, fibre and vitamin D. Energy content of food portions within the Bread, Cereal and Potato group varied widely, yet advice indicated they were equivalent. Dietitians/nutritionists agreed with the majority of consumers surveyed (74 %, n 745) that larger portion sizes within the Bread, Cereal and Potato group were more meaningful. 'Palm of hand' as a descriptor for meat portions and a '200 ml disposable cup' for quantifying cereal foods were preferred. Conclusions: Revision of the guidelines requires specific guidance on energy and vitamin D intakes, and comprehensive advice on how to reduce fat and saturated fat and increase fibre intakes. Advice should use portion descriptors favoured by consumers and enlarged portion sizes for breads, cereals and potatoes that are equivalent in terms of energy.

Objective: To revise the food-based dietary guidelines for Ireland and assess the affordability of healthy eating. Design: An iterative process was used to develop 4 d food intake patterns (n 22) until average intakes met a range of nutrient and energy goals (at moderate and sedentary activity levels) that represented the variable nutritional requirements of all in the population aged 5 years and older. Dietary guidelines were formulated describing the amounts and types of foods that made up these intake patterns. Foods required for healthy eating by typical households in Ireland were priced and affordability assessed as a proportion of relevant weekly social welfare allowances. Setting: Government agency/community. Subjects: General population aged 51 years. Results: Food patterns developed achieved energy and nutrient goals with the exception of dietary fibre (inadequate for adults with energy requirements ,9?2 MJ) and vitamin D (inadequate for everyone). A new food group to guide on fats/oils intake was developed. Servings within the Bread, Cereal and Potato group were sub-categorized on the basis of energy content. Recommendations on numbers of servings from each food group were developed to guide on energy and nutrient requirements. Healthy eating is least affordable for families with children who are dependent on social welfare. Conclusion: Daily supplementation with vitamin D is recommended. Wholemeal breads and cereals are recommended as the best source of energy and fibre. Lowfat dairy products and reduced-fat unsaturated spreads are prioritized to achieve saturated fat and energy goals. Interventions are required to ensure that healthy eating is affordable.

Current healthy eating guidelines recommend at least six servings from the breads, cereals and potato group of the food pyramid, depending on energy requirements (age, gender and activity levels) (1). However, there is evidence that the rise in obesity is occurring in parallel with consumption of larger portion sizes (2). Differences in size between portions that are normally consumed and those that are recommended may confuse individuals who are attempting to follow healthy eating guidelines. The aim of the present study was to determine 'what makes the most sense' to consumers in terms of 'average portion size' for foods within the breads, cereals and potato group. A standardised questionnaire designed to assess preferences and understanding of portion size was administered to 1011 respondents surveyed at two large Dublin supermarkets. Two food displays were created as a visual aid to help respondents provide answers to the questionnaire: one contained smaller portion sizes, based on Irish and UK portion sizes data (3) ; the other contained larger portions of the same foods modelled on Australian portion sizes (4). The energy content ranged between 293 and 523 kJ (70 and 125 kcal) for the smaller display and between 460 and 912 kJ (110 and 218 kcal) for the larger display. The two supermarkets represented both an advantaged and a disadvantaged socioeconomic area. A wide range of adult age groups were surveyed and 72 % were female. SPSS (version 14.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used to analyse the data (c 2).

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Evaluation of Ireland's food guide to healthy eating concluded that guidance on energy requirements for different age and gender groups needs to be included in the newly revised dietary guidelines (1) . This approach requires more specific and quantitative advice on appropriate food choices.Energy goals were set according to age and gender requirements at sedentary and moderate activity levels. Well-established goals for macronutrients (2) , fibre (3,4) , Fe, Ca (6) and vitamin D (6) were set. An iterative approach was used to develop 22 4-day food intake patterns that would meet these goals for males and females representing different age groups (5-12 years, 13-18 years, 19-50 years and 51 + years). Input from dieticians specialising in pediatrics and geriatrics was incorporated to ensure the food intake patterns were appropriate.Energy intakes were achieved within 0.04 MJ of the energy goals. Total fat provided 26-35% energy; saturated fat provided 8-11 % energy and non-milk extrinsic sugar intakes were below 10 % energy (7) . Fibre goals were achieved except for women with lower energy requirements ( £ 8.1 MJ). Fe reached estimated average requirements (EAR) for all meal patterns. Adequate intakes for Ca were reached, except for 9-10 year olds who have a high requirement (1300 mg/d) relative to their energy needs. Vitamin D intakes remained inadequate for all age and gender groups.The table shows the recommended number of servings required from each of the major food groups to achieve a healthy diet. Setting energy requirements for sedentary levels of activity was deemed inappropriate for children.