With three billion people in the world unable to access healthy diets, leading to malnutrition and non-communicable diseases responsible for more than 73% of global deaths, the urgency of transforming food systems to ensure a healthy and sustainable diet.
An unhealthy diet carries the risk of malnutrition and diseases, including undernutrition, overweight and obesity, as well as micronutrient deficiencies.
In fact, the Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) 2024 maintains that a healthy diet could save one in five lives, providing the necessary nutrients for an active and healthy life, contributing to the well-being and productivity of the population.
However, for many people around the world, healthy diets are often undesirable, affordable, accessible, or poorly available.
Therefore, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) suggests an urgent shift to implement community-specific, high-impact solutions that are adaptable, dynamic and equitable.
Finding solutions for more balanced and nutritious diets is not an easy task, especially because in low- and middle-income countries the diet is mainly based on cereals, sugars, saturated fats and high amounts of salt, ingredients that cause numerous diseases.
Challenges to a healthy diet
One of the challenges is consumer preferences. There is evidence that societies are rapidly evolving towards greater consumption of ultra-processed foods.
Excessive consumption of foods of animal origin is also seen, although many vulnerable populations, who could benefit from increased intake of these types of foods, still have inadequate access.
For many people in low- and middle-income countries, as well as among vulnerable populations such as women and children, healthy diets remain out of reach.
Urbanization and rural transformation have also changed consumer preferences, highlighting greater penetration of ultra-processed foods due to their lower cost.
In contrast, many nutritious foods are increasingly expensive and often inaccessible to many people, especially marginalized populations.
Therefore, the study suggests the need to implement policies to manage commitments regarding nutrition, which include mandatory front labeling, restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy products, especially aimed at children and adolescents.
Additionally, food systems must take into account climate change and environmental constraints, as these systems produce a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and negatively affect land quality, water use and biodiversity.
Climate change and the degradation of natural resources harm the food supply and the nutritional content of crops.
What are the measures to reduce unhealthy diets?
The study indicates that some actions that can be taken include increasing behavior change communication along with social assistance programs to address barriers to healthy and sustainable diets, as well as directly changing consumer preferences towards more affordable food options. healthy.
It is also crucial to address issues around the commercial production and marketing of ultra-processed and other unhealthy foods, and increase the supply of diverse, safe and affordable nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and animal-based foods. .
“It is essential to implement changes in the food environment, such as the application of rules and laws to support healthy food environments, as well as strong commitment at a global level,” the report adds.
Affordability is also crucial to promoting pro-poor economic growth, realigning agricultural policies to support nutrient-rich foods, and improving infrastructure and logistics to reduce the relative cost of healthy foods, thereby improving their accessibility and availability. .
“A holistic approach recognizes the interaction between dietary patterns, food environments, production and policies, along with broader social and environmental factors,” the report reads.
Because no single intervention, approach or policy can achieve the necessary change, all public actions and policies must be interconnected and supported by good governance to address the changing constraints of desirability, affordability, accessibility and availability, to achieve healthy diets. and sustainable.
Impact of poor diet on health
- Two billion people are affected by micronutrient deficiencies.
- 2.2 billion people are overweight or obese (40% of all men and women).
- 148 million children around five years old suffer from stunted growth
- 1.2 billion people have high blood pressure.
- 500 million people have diabetes.
Challenges for a healthy and accessible diet
Disability: Although healthy foods are available and accessible to the population, people do not always choose healthy foods.
Affordability: Low incomes and high costs of safe, diverse, and healthy foods (especially fruits, vegetables, and animal-based foods) make healthy diets unaffordable, for at least two billion people worldwide.
Availability: Insufficient year-round availability of various fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods leads to high costs and hard-to-find sources.
Accessibility: Consumers often lack regular and convenient access to safe, diverse, healthy and affordable foods.
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