Taipei: Taiwan's Health Promotion Administration (HPA) is set to introduce new daily dietary guidelines that emphasize increased water consumption, as well as higher intakes of fruits and vegetables. The guidelines, pending final review, aim to encourage healthier eating habits among the public and are expected to be officially published as early as next month.
According to Focus Taiwan, the new guidelines will provide nutritional advice tailored to individuals based on gender, age, height, and weight, recommending a maximum daily intake of 3,500 calories, up from the 2,700-calorie limit set in 2018. The guidelines will suggest consuming 3 to 8 servings of vegetables daily, an increase from the previous recommendation of 3-5 servings. A serving is defined as a cooked portion that fills a 15-centimeter plate or half of a small rice bowl. The fruit intake recommendation will also rise, advising 2-6 servings per day instead of the previous 2-4 servings.
For the first time, the guidelines will include a chapter on water consumption, advising males aged 19 and above to drink around 2,400 milliliters per day, and females 2,000 milliliters, with adjustments based on factors such as body type, activity level, health condition, and weather.
Regarding liquid dairy, the HPA plans to lower the recommendation from two cups per day to one. Despite this, the agency notes that most Taiwanese currently consume only 0.5 cups per day, indicating a need for increased intake. The guidelines also highlight alternative calcium sources like black sesame, traditional tofu, dried small fish, dark leafy greens, and the importance of vitamin D for calcium absorption.
Protein recommendations will also be revised, with the tofu-fish-egg-meat category raised from 3-8 to 3-13 servings per day. Additionally, the nuts and seeds category will be adjusted from one serving to 1-2 servings daily.
The HPA is considering introducing front-of-package nutrition labeling for restaurant food, potentially using a green-yellow-red light system to indicate the levels of salt and sugar. A committee of experts has reached an initial consensus on this proposal, with plans for the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration to discuss it with industry representatives.