title: Consumer involvement in dietary guideline development: opinions from European stakeholders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The involvement of consumers in the development of dietary guidelines has been promoted by national and international bodies. Yet, few best practice guidelines have been established to assist with such involvement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative semi-structured interviews explored stakeholders' beliefs about consumer involvement in dietary guideline development.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted in six European countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Serbia, Spain and the UK.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-seven stakeholders were interviewed. Stakeholders were grouped as government, scientific advisory body, professional and academic, industry or non-government organisations. Response rate ranged from 45 % to 95 %.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thematic analysis was conducted with the assistance of NVivo qualitative software. Analysis identified two main themes: (i) type of consumer involvement and (ii) pros and cons of consumer involvement. Direct consumer involvement (e.g. consumer organisations) in the decision-making process was discussed as a facilitator to guideline communication towards the end of the process. Indirect consumer involvement (e.g. consumer research data) was considered at both the beginning and the end of the process. Cons to consumer involvement included the effect of vested interests on objectivity; consumer disinterest; and complications in terms of time, finance and technical understanding. Pros related to increased credibility and trust in the process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stakeholders acknowledged benefits to consumer involvement during the development of dietary guidelines, but remained unclear on the advantage of direct contributions to the scientific content of guidelines. In the absence of established best practice, clarity on the type and reasons for consumer involvement would benefit all actors.
authors.affiliation: Food Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK. kerry.brown@surrey.ac.uk
authors.forename: Kerry A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hermoso
authors.forename: Lada
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Timotijevic
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Inger Therese L
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Lillegaard
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Řehůřková
authors.forename: Ainhoa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Larrañaga
authors.forename: Azra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lončarević-Srmić
authors.forename: Lene Frost
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Jiří
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruprich
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fernández-Celemín
authors.forename: Monique M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Raats
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D018153:Czech Republic; D003657:Decision Making; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards*; D005858:Germany; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway; D064167:Recommended Dietary Allowances; D055771:Serbia; D013030:Spain; D006113:United Kingdom