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Diet and nutrition are now the biggest risk factors for people's health across the globe, even in poorer countries. That's according to a recent report published by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems Nutrition, an independent group of experts on nutrition and health.
"If you look at all the diet-related risk factors for health, they outweigh the burden of all of the other risk factors combined," says Lawrence Haddad, an author on the report and formerly, a senior fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute. The other risk factors include unsafe sex, alcohol, drug and tobacco use.
The report, which uses some recent data on what people around the world are eating, offers some good news, too. We have fewer hungry people in the world now than a couple of decades ago – only one in 10 people, as opposed to about one in five in 1990. And the number of stunted (a sign of chronic malnutrition) children has decreased from 39.6 percent to 23.8 percent. That means fewer people suffering and dying from insufficient food. This has been possible because of targeted projects to tackle hunger, as well as overall reductions in poverty, better education, improved health care and sanitation.
As poorer countries have developed over the past couple of decades, many aspects of life in those countries have gotten better, says Haddad, who is now the executive director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, a non-governmental organization. "More kids go to school, more clean water and sanitation," he says. But diet doesn't necessarily get better with higher incomes. Yes, people eat more healthy foods when they earn more money – for example, milk, fruits and seafood. But their consumption of unhealthy foods – processed foods and sugary drinks – increases much more with rising incomes, according to the report. "These kinds of things, they have very high concentrations of calories," says Haddad.
In fact, the sale of processed foods is growing at the fastest rate in developing countries, the report finds. "Income is sort of a double-edged sword. It allows us to buy healthy stuff and also unhealthy stuff," says Haddad.
As a result, the planet is seeing a rapid rise in rates of overweight and obesity. If current trends continue, we may have as many as 3.28 billion overweight and obese people by 2030 (up from 1.33 billion in 2005), the vast majority of them in low- and middle-income countries. For example, in China, "the combined rate of overweight and obese adults is projected to rise to over 50 percent by 2030," the report notes
Across The Globe, Our Diets Are Making Us Sicker, Report Finds : The Salt : NPR
Diet and nutrition are now the biggest risk factors for people's health across the globe, even in poorer countries. That's according to a recent report published by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems Nutrition, an independent group of experts on nutrition and health.
"If you look at all the diet-related risk factors for health, they outweigh the burden of all of the other risk factors combined," says Lawrence Haddad, an author on the report and formerly, a senior fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute. The other risk factors include unsafe sex, alcohol, drug and tobacco use.
The report, which uses some recent data on what people around the world are eating, offers some good news, too. We have fewer hungry people in the world now than a couple of decades ago – only one in 10 people, as opposed to about one in five in 1990. And the number of stunted (a sign of chronic malnutrition) children has decreased from 39.6 percent to 23.8 percent. That means fewer people suffering and dying from insufficient food. This has been possible because of targeted projects to tackle hunger, as well as overall reductions in poverty, better education, improved health care and sanitation.
As poorer countries have developed over the past couple of decades, many aspects of life in those countries have gotten better, says Haddad, who is now the executive director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, a non-governmental organization. "More kids go to school, more clean water and sanitation," he says. But diet doesn't necessarily get better with higher incomes. Yes, people eat more healthy foods when they earn more money – for example, milk, fruits and seafood. But their consumption of unhealthy foods – processed foods and sugary drinks – increases much more with rising incomes, according to the report. "These kinds of things, they have very high concentrations of calories," says Haddad.
In fact, the sale of processed foods is growing at the fastest rate in developing countries, the report finds. "Income is sort of a double-edged sword. It allows us to buy healthy stuff and also unhealthy stuff," says Haddad.
As a result, the planet is seeing a rapid rise in rates of overweight and obesity. If current trends continue, we may have as many as 3.28 billion overweight and obese people by 2030 (up from 1.33 billion in 2005), the vast majority of them in low- and middle-income countries. For example, in China, "the combined rate of overweight and obese adults is projected to rise to over 50 percent by 2030," the report notes
Across The Globe, Our Diets Are Making Us Sicker, Report Finds : The Salt : NPR