Reports

Researchers develop meal plans

The DTU National Food Institute has produced three reports that strengthen the scientific basis for work on meals for healthy adults both under and over 70 years of age, as well as for people at nutritional risk. The target audience is primarily professional kitchens, dietitians and other food professionals.

Researchers from the DTU National Food Institute are putting forward recommendations for daily meal plans based on health, climate and food culture considerations. Photo: Colourbox

In three reports, the DTU National Food Institute provides suggestions for dietary composition and meal plans that translate the Danish Official Dietary Guidelines into daily meals.

By following the calculated examples, everyone is ensured an adequate protein intake and a nutritionally balanced diet. This applies to healthy adults under 70, healthy adults over 70, and people at nutritional risk who require a higher protein intake.

Anne Dahl Lassen senior researcher at the DTU National Food Institute

The distribution is indicative – the most important thing is that the individual’s needs are met.

The proposals can serve as useful tools for both professional kitchens and dietitians providing personalised dietary advice – either as a framework for the composition of foods in individual meals or across the day as a whole. At the same time, there is built-in flexibility in the meals, so that they can be adapted to different user groups and individual preferences.

In all three reports, the calculations consider health, climate and food culture.

Healthy adults under and over 70

The Official Dietary Guidelines from the Danish Veterinary, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Agency are based on scientific research from the DTU National Food Institute.

Researchers from the institute have now provided a scientific basis for translating the recommendations into meals and seven-days meal plans for healthy adults, both under and over 70 years of age.

The Official Dietary Guidelines focus on the overall daily diet across a week, but many professional kitchens offer individual meals. We have now developed nutritionally calculated suggestions for distributing food across daily meals, which we hope will be of help to many food professionals.

Lene Møller Christensen academic officer at the DTU National Food Institute

All the dietary suggestions are rich in plant-based foods such as vegetables, pulses, fruit, nuts, seeds, whole grains and potatoes, and contain vegetable oils, eggs and dairy products. The plant-rich diet also includes fish and meat in quantities that comply with the Official Dietary Guidelines.

People at nutritional risk

In 2025, the Danish Veterinary, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Agency, in collaboration with the Danish Health Authority, published Recommendations of the Danish Institution Diet (Anbefalinger for den danske institutionskost), which contain recommendations for energy- and protein-rich diets for people at nutritional risk in, for example, hospitals and care homes.

This group requires a more energy-dense diet with a higher protein content to compensate for a reduced appetite. In cases of reduced appetite, it is important that the fibre content is not too high but also not too low, as too little fibre can have negative consequences for bowel function and health.

Researchers from the DTU National Food Institute have now translated the recommendations for an energy- and protein-rich diet into specific suggestions for meal composition.

Room for both tradition and innovation

In developing the proposals, consideration has been given to ensure that the diet can accommodate both traditional dishes and more modern dishes. At the same time, a fixed quantity of pulses and pulse products is specified, which can be included in everything from mashed potatoes to stews and help to improve the diet’s overall nutritional value.

In addition, the researchers present models for an energy- and protein-rich diet that allow for variation, for example through increased use of tofu, eggs/protein powder or meat, depending on the kitchen’s priorities and how far along each kitchen is in the green transition. This can help to ensure both good taste, better nutrition and greater climate consideration, as well as accommodate different priorities in meal composition.

Next steps

The next step is to communicate the meal plans through the National Dietary Handbook, a digital reference work aimed at nutrition and health professionals. The Danish Diet and Nutrition Association (Kost og Ernæringsforbundet), the Danish Veterinary, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Agency and the Danish Health Authority are behind kosthåndbogen.dk.

Read the reports (in Danish):

The reports have been prepared by the DTU National Food Institute for the Danish Veterinary, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Agency and are funded by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.