The German Nutrition Society (DGE)’s food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) for Germany, ‘Eat and drink well’, and the updated DGE nutrition circle were published in March 2024. The new methodological paper, ‘Investigations of a multi-objective diet optimisation model including human health, the environment, and observed dietary intake’, published in Food & Nutrition Research, provides the basis for the mathematical optimisation of FBDGs.
The study describes how the three components – minimising the risk of disease, minimising environmental impact and minimising deviations from typical consumption – influence one another within the model. It also demonstrates the derivation of a health indicator to integrate the links between diet and disease risks into the model.
These methodological investigations provide an important basis for the development of the DGE’s FBDG. The methodology paper illustrates how health, the environment and diet are interrelated and emphasises the importance of all three components for the optimisation model. At the same time, the publication provides important insights for researchers involved in the development of the FBDG. It describes practical experience gained from the use of optimisation models and thus supports the derivation of scientifically sound dietary recommendations.
Publication: https://foodandnutritionresearch.net/index.php/fnr/article/view/13758
Further information (in German): www.dge.de/fbdg
Source: https://iuns.org/2026/07/german-nutriti ... uidelines/
