Contribution to the development of a food guide in Benin: linear programming for the optimization of local diets.

OBJECTIVE Food guides are important tools for nutrition education. While developing a food guide in Benin, the objective was to determine the daily number of servings per food group and the portion sizes of common foods to be recommended. DESIGN Linear programming (LP) was used to determine, for each predefined food group, the optimal number and size of servings of commonly consumed foods. Two types of constraints were introduced into the LP models: (i) WHO/FAO Recommended Nutrient Intakes and dietary guidelines for the prevention of chronic diseases; and (ii) dietary patterns based on local food consumption data recently collected in southern Benin in 541 adults. Dietary intakes of the upper tertile of participants for diet quality based on prevention and micronutrient adequacy scores were used in the LP algorithms. SETTING Southern area of the Republic of Benin. SUBJECTS Local key-players in nutrition (n 30) from the government, academic institutions, international organizations and civil society were partners in the development of the food guide directed at the population. RESULTS The number of servings per food group and the portion size for eight age-sex groups were determined. For four limiting micronutrients (Fe, Ca, folate and Zn), local diets could be optimized to meet only 70 % of the Recommended Nutrient Intakes, not 100 %. CONCLUSIONS It was possible to determine the daily number of servings and the portion sizes of common foods that can be recommended in Benin with the help of LP to optimize local diets, although Recommended Nutrient Intakes were not fully met for a few critical micronutrients.