Global Non-Communicable Diseases—The Nutrition Conundrum

[摘要] Poor diets reduce our productivity and increase premature morbidity and mortality (1). Recent estimates suggest that ~45% of cardio-metabolic deaths in 2012 (318,000/702,000) were “associated with” top 10 dietary factors: fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, unprocessed red meats, processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, polyunsaturated fats, seafood omega-3 fats, and sodium (2). Moreover, the health consequences of poor nutrition may be evident across the life-course and have intergenerational impacts (3–6). For example: pooled analyses from birth cohorts across several countries show that women with poor nutritional status give birth to babies which are disadvantaged in terms attaining their full cognitive potential and also have higher risk of developing chronic diseases in adult life (7–10). Thus, the scientific community has enthusiastically been pursuing several kinds of nutritional interventions across life span (in particular during early in utero life) to improve birth outcomes. However, nutrition science (especially nutritional epidemiology) poses particular challenges, for both science and communication of findings to the public.

[学科分类] 卫生学

[关键词] nutrition epidemiology;bias;methods;life-course epidemiology;public health