This report issues a call for urgent action to combat the growing epidemic of obesity, which now affects developing and industrialized countries alike. Adopting a public health approach, the report responds to both the enormity of health problems associated with obesity and the notorious difficulty of treating this complex, multifactorial disease. With these problems in mind, the report aims to help policy-makers introduce strategies for prevention and management that have the greatest chance of success. The importance of prevention as the most sensible strategy in developing countries, where obesity coexists with undernutrition, is repeatedly emphasized. Recommended lines of action, which reflect the consensus reached by 25 leading authorities, are based on a critical review of current scientific knowledge about the causes of obesity in both individuals and populations. While all causes are considered, major attention is given to behavioural and societal changes that have increased the energy density of diets, overwhelmed sophisticated regulatory systems that control appetite and maintain energy balance, and reduced physical activity. Specific topics discussed range from the importance of fat content in the food supply as a cause of population-wide obesity, through misconceptions about obesity held by both the medical profession and the public, to strategies for dealing with the alarming prevalence of obesity in children. "... the volume is clearly written, and carries a wealth of summary information that is likely to be invaluable for anyone interested in the public health aspects of obesity and fatness, be they students, practitioner or researcher." - Journal of Biosocial Science
Developing and maintaining healthy retail food environments and green spaces isof the utmost and pressing importance in urban centres. To this end, it is crucial to provide cities with tools to assess the availability, accessibility and use of food outlets and green spaces that facilitate healthy eating and living for urban dwellers. Existing tools to assess food and green environments have been developed and used mainly in high-income countries. This study shows that these tools can and should be adapted to low- and middle-income country settings. This study shows that small neighbourhood food shops are important for household food security, in particular for low- to middle-income households. At the same time, the study shows that consumers are disproportionately exposed to ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in these shops. The policy implication of this finding is that small neighbourhood shops must be incentivized to stock and sell greater amounts of fresh and minimally processed foods to make it easier for low- to middle-income households to adopt healthy diets.
Obesity in all age groups, including children and adolescents, is a public health challenge across all settings. Obesity is now classified as a complex multifactorial chronic disease and not just a risk factor for other noncommunicable diseases and comorbidities. Recognizing the significance of primary health care for an effective and efficient response to the obesity epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed guidance on how to build capacity in the health system to deliver health services for prevention and management of obesity across the life course. This policy brief discusses the challenges and opportunities for preventing obesity in children and adolescents, and providing health services to treat and manage those already living with obesity. It outlines possible interventions through the primary health care approach.
The 2020 report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the Asia and Pacific region, provides an update on progress towards the 2030 targets (SDGs and WHA) at the regional and country level. Selected indicators look at undernourishment, food insecurity, childhood stunting, wasting and overweight, adult overweight, child minimum acceptable diet, exclusive and continued breastfeeding, and anaemia in women and children. While the region continues to work towards ending all forms of malnutrition and achieving Zero Hunger, progress on food security and nutrition has slowed, and the Asia and Pacific region is not on track to achieving 2030 targets. About 350.6 million people in the Asia and Pacific region are estimated to have been undernourished in 2019, about 51 percent of the global total. An estimated 74.5 million children under five years of age were stunted and a total of 31.5 million were wasted in the Asia and Pacific region. The majority of these children in the region live in Southern Asia with 55.9 million stunted and 25.2 million wasted children. Estimates predict a 14.3 percent increase in the prevalence of moderate or severe wasting among children under 5 years of age, equal to an additional 6.7 million children, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With basic food prices and disposable incomes influencing household decisions on food and dietary intake, they are critical to improve food security and nutrition in the region. However, in the Asia and Pacific region, 1.9 billion people are unable to afford a healthy diet, driven by high prices of fruits, vegetables and dairy products, making it impossible for the poor to achieve healthy diets.In Part 2, the 2020 report promotes a systems approach to healthy maternal and child diets, involving and coordinating institutions and actors in the Food, Water and Sanitation, Health, Social Protection and Education systems, to collectively create the enabling environment for healthy diets. Integration of healthy diets and nutrition-focused Social Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) mainstreamed throughout these systems will lead to greater uptake and sustainability of healthy behaviours and caregiver’s knowledge.
Latin America and the Caribbean managed to reduce the number of undernourished by 20 million compared to the year 2000. However, 2018 marks the fourth consecutive year in which hunger shows a continuous increases. Moderate or severe food insecurity in Latin America increased considerably. This increase caused more than 32 million people to join the almost 155 million who lived in food insecurity in the Region in 2014-2016. The Region has shown significant progress in reducing child malnutrition and it is significantly distant and below the global prevalence of malnutrition in girls and boys. However, malnutrition due to excessive weight in the Region is one of the highest in the world and it continues to increase. This year, the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean focuses on food environments and describes some of the main policies that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are developing to face the different forms of malnutrition.
Trends such as shifting dietary patterns and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle combined with smoking and alcohol consumption are major risk factors for noncommunicable chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and stroke, cancer dental diseases and osteoporosis. This report reviews the scientific evidence on the effects of diet, nutrition and physical activity on chronic diseases and makes recommendations for public health policies and programmes. Issues considered include the macro-economic implications of public health on agriculture and the global supply and demand for fresh and processed foods.
This report issues a call for urgent action to combat the growing epidemic of obesity, which now affects developing and industrialized countries alike. Adopting a public health approach, the report responds to both the enormity of health problems associated with obesity and the notorious difficulty of treating this complex, multifactorial disease. With these problems in mind, the report aims to help policy-makers introduce strategies for prevention and management that have the greatest chance of success. The importance of prevention as the most sensible strategy in developing countries, where obesity coexists with undernutrition, is repeatedly emphasized. Recommended lines of action, which reflect the consensus reached by 25 leading authorities, are based on a critical review of current scientific knowledge about the causes of obesity in both individuals and populations. While all causes are considered, major attention is given to behavioural and societal changes that have increased the energy density of diets, overwhelmed sophisticated regulatory systems that control appetite and maintain energy balance, and reduced physical activity. Specific topics discussed range from the importance of fat content in the food supply as a cause of population-wide obesity, through misconceptions about obesity held by both the medical profession and the public, to strategies for dealing with the alarming prevalence of obesity in children. "... the volume is clearly written, and carries a wealth of summary information that is likely to be invaluable for anyone interested in the public health aspects of obesity and fatness, be they students, practitioner or researcher." - Journal of Biosocial Science
Based on a review of available literature, this monograph explores the links between poverty and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) with particular reference to the Western Pacific Region. The project was specifically designed to stimulate discussion on the relationship between poverty and NCDs, to contribute to the reduction of the impact of NCDs in developing countries, and to foster an understanding of how to improve health outcomes for the poor or socially marginalized groups with NCDs.
The Decision-making tool promotes a principles-based approach in engagements with private sector entities so that credibility, integrity and sound government processes are ensured and protected. It offers a systematic methodology for identifying opportunities where the private sector could contribute to strengthening national and subnational NCD responses, while safeguarding public health policies from undue influence and conflicts of interest. The tool was designed to be practical and applicable across diverse contexts and scenarios, and throughout the various phases of an engagement cycle (i.e. planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). The process consists of three phases, comprising a total of 10 steps that aim to guide users to reach informed decisions on engagement with private sector entities. Each step contains a set of questions presented in a sequential and comprehensive manner. It will help strengthening Member States’ capacity to engage with the private sector, by conducting due diligence of private sector actors, and identifying and mitigating risks, including conflict of interest and other risks associated with the engagement.
New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting. Last year’s report showed that the failure to reduce world hunger is closely associated with the increase in conflict and violence in several parts of the world. In some countries, initial evidence showed climate-related events were also undermining food security and nutrition. This year’s report goes further to show that climate variability and extremes – even without conflict – are key drivers behind the recent rise in global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe food crises and their impact on people’s nutrition and health. Climate variability and exposure to more complex, frequent and intense climate extremes are threatening to erode and reverse gains in ending hunger and malnutrition. Furthermore, hunger is significantly worse in countries where agriculture systems are highly sensitive to rainfall, temperature and severe drought, and where the livelihood of a high proportion of the population depends on agriculture. The findings of this report reveal new challenges to ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition. There is an urgent need to accelerate and scale up actions that strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity of people and their livelihoods to climate variability and extremes. These and other findings are detailed in the 2018 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.
This is the fifth edition of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition annual report. This publication is led by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) and jointly contributed to by United Nations' partner agencies (UNICEF, WFP, WHO), on the region’s progress (or lack thereof) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG 2 – Ending Hunger) and the World Health Assembly (WHA) 2030 targets on food security and nutrition. In recent years, previous editions reported that progress was stalling, then regressing and then more recently pushing us further off track. This reverse was evident even before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020. The decline continued and worsened during the pandemic and the data is captured in this report. Updated estimates on the cost and affordability of a healthy diet show that nearly 45 percent of the region’s population cannot afford one. Reducing the cost of a healthy diet and making it more affordable is a critical element for achieving ending hunger (SDG2) and also the other SDGs. This year’s report also looks closely at food security and nutrition in urban areas which will increasingly contribute to the progress in SDG indicators as the proportion of the urban population across the region is set to cross 50 percent in this decade.
This report presents the latest updates related to food security and nutrition in Europe and Central Asia, including estimates on the cost and affordability of healthy diets. It also explores how governments are supporting the food and agriculture sector and how to repurpose policies and incentives to make healthy diets more affordable and agrifood systems more environmentally sustainable. The new estimates confirm that the prevalence of hunger at chronic or severe levels is relatively low in the ECA region, through the prevalence of food insecurity at moderate or severe levels can be quite high. The region is seeing alarmingly high – and rising – rates of overweight and obesity. The COVID-19 pandemic has added 25.5 million people in the region to the ranks of the moderately or severely food insecure, leaving them without access to safe, nutritious and adequate food. The war in Ukraine has made the situation worse. Almost all ECA subregions are experiencing increased costs and reduced affordability of healthy diets because of higher food prices and lower incomes. This report contains an in-depth analysis of the repurposing of food and agricultural policies to ensure the food systems transformation is better suited to addressing the “triple challenge” of achieving food security and good nutrition for better health, providing livelihoods to farmers and others connected to the sector, and reducing the nature and climate footprint of the sector. This report also reviews complementing policies within and outside of agrifood systems to assess whether repurposing efforts are impactful in the ECA region.
This resource book discusses the economic arguments that could (and could not) be put forth to support the case for investing in the social determinants of health on average and in the reduction in socially determined health inequalities. It provides an overview and introduction into how economists would approach the assessment of the economic motivation to invest in the social determinants of health and socially determined health inequities, including what the major challenges are in this assessment. It illustrates the extent to which an economic argument can be made in favour of investment in 3 major social determinants of health areas: education, social protection, and urban development and infrastructure. It describes whether education policy, social protection, and urban development, housing and transport policy can act as health policy"--
This guideline provides updated, evidence-informed guidance on the percentage of total fat in the diet to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain. This guideline is intended for a wide audience involved in the development, design and implementation of policies and programmes in nutrition and public health. This guideline includes a recommended level of total fat intake which can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to address various aspects of dietary fat in their populations through a range of policy actions and public health interventions. The guidance in this guideline replaces previous WHO guidance on total fat intake, including that from the 1989 WHO Study Group on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and the 2002 Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. The guidance in this guideline should be considered in the context of that from other WHO guidelines on healthy diets.
his guideline provides updated, evidence-informed guidance on the intake of saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids to reduce the risk of diet-related noncommunicable diseases in adults and children, particularly cardiovascular diseases. This guideline is intended for a wide audience involved in the development, design and implementation of policies and programmes in nutrition and public health. This guideline includes recommended levels of intake for saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids and recommendations on preferred replacement nutrients which can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to address various aspects of saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake in their populations through a range of policy actions and public health interventions. The guidance in this guideline replaces previous WHO guidance on saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acids intake, including that from the 1989 WHO Study Group on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and the 2002 Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. The guidance in this guideline should be considered in the context of that from other WHO guidelines on healthy diets.
This guideline provides evidence-informed guidance on the use of non-sugar sweeteners to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain and diet-related noncommunicable diseases in adults and children. The guidance in this guideline is not based on toxicological assessments of the safety of individual non-sugar sweeteners and is therefore not intended to update or replace guidance on safe or maximal levels of intake established by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) or other authoritative bodies. This guideline is intended for a wide audience involved in the development, design and implementation of policies and programmes in nutrition and public health. This guideline includes a recommendation on the use of non-sugar sweeteners which can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to address non-sugar sweetener use in their populations through a range of policy actions and public health interventions. The guidance in this guideline should be considered in the context of that from other WHO guidelines on healthy diets.
This guideline provides updated, evidence-informed guidance on the intake of carbohydrates to reduce the risk of diet-noncommunicable diseases in adults and children, with a particular focus on carbohydrate “quality”. Carbohydrate quality refers to the nature and composition of carbohydrates in a food or in the diet, including the proportion of sugars, how quickly polysaccharides are metabolized and release glucose into the body (i.e. digestibility), and the amount of dietary fiber. The quality of carbohydrates in the diet can broadly impact health. This guideline is intended for a wide audience involved in the development, design and implementation of policies and programmes in nutrition and public health. This guideline includes recommendations on preferred food sources of carbohydrates, and recommended levels of intake for fruits and vegetables, and dietary fiber which can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to address various aspects of carbohydrate intake in their populations through a range of policy actions and public health interventions. The guidance in this guideline replaces previous WHO guidance on carbohydrate intake, including that from the 1989 WHO Study Group on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and the 2002 Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. The guidance in this guideline should be considered in the context of that from other WHO guidelines on healthy diets.
China should complete its transition to a market economy through enterprise, land, labor, and financial sector reforms, strengthen its private sector, open its markets to greater competition and innovation, and ensure equality of opportunity to help achieve its goal of a new structure for economic growth. These are some of the key findings of China 2030, a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China s State Council. This report lays out the case for a new development strategy for China to rebalance the role of government and market, private sector and society to reach the goal of becoming a-high income country by 2030. China 2030 recommends steps to deal with the risks facing China over the next 20 years, including the risk of a hard landing in the short term, as well as challenges posed by an ageing and shrinking workforce, rising inequality, environmental stresses, and external imbalances. The report presents six strategic directions for China s future: Completing the transition to a market economy; Accelerating the pace of open innovation; Going green to transform environmental stresses into green growth as a driver for development; Expanding opportunities and services such as health, education and access to jobs for all people; Modernizing and strengthening its domestic fiscal system; and Seeking mutually beneficial relations with the world by connecting China s structural reforms to the changing international economy.
This guideline provides updated global, evidence-informed recommendations on the intake of free sugars to reduce the risk of NCDs in adults and children, with a particular focus on the prevention and control of unhealthy weight gain and dental caries. The recommendations in this guideline can be used by policy-makers and programme managers to assess current intake levels of free sugars in their countries relative to a benchmark. They can also be used to develop measures to decrease intake of free sugars, where necessary, through a range of public health interventions. Examples of such interventions and measures that are already being implemented by countries include food and nutrition labelling, consumer education, regulation of marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in free sugars, and fiscal policies targeting foods and beverages that are high in free sugars. This guideline should be used in conjunction with other nutrient guidelines and dietary goals, in particular those related to fats and fatty acids (including saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids), to guide development of effective public health nutrition policies and programmes to promote a healthy diet.
Having plenty to eat and no forbidden food is every slimmer's dream. It sounds too good to be true, but it's the approach that has enabled thousands of Slimming World members to reach their target weight - the weight they have chosen to be. No foods are banned at Slimming World. There's no calorie counting and there are hundreds of 'Free Foods' which can be eaten in unlimited amounts. The Slimming World diet is designed to make weight loss easy and more enjoyable and this recipe book makes the healthy eating plan available to everyone. Packed with nutritional advice, lifestyle and diet information, as well as over 150 wonderfully healthy recipes, simply follow the eating plan and lose weight. And by adopting and developing healthy eating habits for life, the weight will be lost for good.
Digital environments are fast becoming the predominant source of exposure to promotion of breast-milk substitutes globally. Digital marketing amplifies the reach and power of advertising and other forms of promotion in digital environments, and exposure to digital marketing increases the purchase and use of breast-milk substitutes. In light of this evidence, the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly requested that WHO develop guidance for Member States on regulatory measures aimed at restricting the digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes. This guidance applies to marketing of products within the scope of the Code as well as foods for infants and young children that are not breast-milk substitutes.
As the number of countries taxing SSBs increases, the available and emerging empirical evidence indicates that SSB taxation can be an effective lever for promoting healthier diets and improving population health. This guide is designed to support health and finance ministries in the growing number of countries that are exploring the use of SSB taxation to promote healthy diets, advance population health and improve societal welfare. Specifically, this manual is designed to (1) explain key economic concepts related to SSB taxation for public health personnel and SSB tax advocates to aid effective discussions and negotiations with financial officers and (2) provide finance ministry and health ministry officials with appropriate national-level examples in the implementation of SSB excise taxes, along with key considerations and strategies for effective SSB tax policy development, design, implementation and administration.
This report presents insights and emerging lessons on food systems governance from the experience of nine cities that have developed urban food interventions – Baltimore, Belo Horizonte, Lima, Medellín, Nairobi, Quito, Seoul, Shanghai and Toronto – and draws on diverse sources of secondary information regarding the experiences of other cities throughout the world. It highlights entry points for the governance of urban food systems issues; common procedural and content-related considerations when addressing those issues; predominant governance models; and operational opportunities for future investment. Successful examples can encourage other local governments to adapt new approaches and innovate within their own context. Every city will need to navigate the political economy to customize their choices and interventions to local circumstances, priority problems and economic opportunities.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health conditions have a profound impact on societies, communities and individuals around the world. Their risk factors and determinants extend beyond the traditional health sector. Addressing this complex challenge necessitates interventions that reach beyond the boundaries of public health and requires a coherent, coordinated approach across all relevant governmental sectors. Understanding, documenting and sharing how governments implement multisectoral actions are essential to overcome these challenges and identify the capacity needs for coherent and sustainable responses to NCDs and mental health. In 2019, WHO Member States requested the Director-General to provide a consolidated report to the World Health Assembly analysing approaches to multisectoral action for NCD prevention and control, including addressing social, economic and environmental determinants of health. This compendium report is the Secretariat’s response to that request and features case studies from countries across WHO’s six regions.
The world is living dangerously - either because it has little choice or because it is making the wrong choices -- Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland WHO Director-General
In December 2016, FAO and WHO convened an International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition, gathering delegates from 90 UN Member States representatives of intergovernmental organizations, private-sector entities, civil society organizations, academia/research organizations and producer organizations/cooperatives. The symposium aimed to increase awareness of today’s urgent food and nutrition challenges, and to create a forum to discuss strategies for regulation and reform, in the aftermath of the ICN2 and under the umbrella of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025. Nine parallel sessions comprising expert presentations and country case studies were complemented by a session on the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, a student’s session, plenary and special events. These proceedings include summaries of the parallel sessions, summaries and transcriptions from the plenary and Decade of Action sessions, to contribute to better-informed, accelerated action at national, regional and global levels on the urgent need to improve the human and environmental health of food systems worldwide and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The major causes of premature adult deaths in all regions of the world, due to chronic diseases such as heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancer, have been generally neglected on the international health and development agenda. Four out of every five chronic disease-related deaths in the world occur in low and middle income countries, where people tend to develop these diseases at a younger age and to die sooner. The death toll is projected to rise by a further 17 per cent in the next 10 years, whilst child obesity rates are increasing worldwide. This report examines the actual scale and severity of the problem using the most recent data available, considers the major risk factors and associated trends, and discusses the public health policy actions required to implement effective integrated chronic disease prevention and control measures.
This report provides an update on global progress towards the targets of ending hunger (SDG Target 2.1) and all forms of malnutrition (SDG Target 2.2) and estimates on the number of people who are unable to afford a healthy diet. Since its 2017 edition, this report has repeatedly highlighted that the intensification and interaction of conflict, climate extremes and economic slowdowns and downturns, combined with highly unaffordable nutritious foods and growing inequality, are pushing us off track to meet the SDG 2 targets. However, other important megatrends must also be factored into the analysis to fully understand the challenges and opportunities for meeting the SDG 2 targets. One such megatrend, and the focus of this year’s report, is urbanization. New evidence shows that food purchases in some countries are no longer high only among urban households but also among rural households. Consumption of highly processed foods is also increasing in peri-urban and rural areas of some countries. These changes are affecting people’s food security and nutrition in ways that differ depending on where they live across the rural–urban continuum. This timely and relevant theme is aligned with the United Nations General Assembly-endorsed New Urban Agenda, and the report provides recommendations on the policies, investments and actions needed to address the challenges of agrifood systems transformation under urbanization and to enable opportunities for ensuring access to affordable healthy diets for everyone.
A Strategic Roundtable on Building an NCD-ready workforce was convened on 3-4 June, 2021 in collaboration between the WHO Department for NCDs and the Health Workforce Department. The Roundtable brought together public health and workforce experts from Ministries of Health, WHO and other partners to discuss key principles of workforce optimization through strengthening competencies, workforce planning and engaging communities and providers for the provision of NCD care and to share country experiences. The meeting sought to review a provisional approach for meaningful support for countries to build an NCD-ready workforce across key thematic areas. The technical meeting report summarizes presentations and lessons shared during the Roundtable and includes a draft pathway to building an NCDready workforce.
Complementary feeding, defined as the process of providing foods in addition to milk when breast milk or milk formula alone are no longer adequate to meet nutritional requirements, generally starts at age 6 months and continues until 23 months of age. This is a developmental period when it is critical for children to learn to accept healthy foods and beverages and establish long-term dietary patterns. It also coincides with the peak period for risk of growth faltering and nutrient deficiencies. This guideline provides global, normative evidence-based recommendations on complementary feeding of infants and young children 6–23 months of age living in low, middle- and high-income countries. It considers the needs of both breastfed and non-breastfed children. The guideline supersedes the earlier Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Child and Guiding principles for feeding non-breastfed children 6-24 months of age. The recommendations in the guideline are intended for a wide audience, including policy-makers, and technical and programme staff at government institutions and organizations involved in the design, implementation and scaling of programmes for infant and young child feeding. The guideline may also be used by caregivers, health-care professionals, clinicians, academic and research institutions, and training institutions.
With rapidly changing diets, the burden of disease due to the consumption of unhealthy diets is a worldwide concern. Assessment and monitoring of diets across countries and population groups is critical. However, there are no harmonized metrics for tracking how the healthfulness of diets around the world is evolving. Recognizing the need for consensus and action, and to chart a way forward, FAO, UNICEF, and WHO established the Healthy Diets Monitoring Initiative (HDMI) in 2022. The joint mission of this Initiative was articulated through discussions at a technical expert meeting in Bellagio, Italy, in late 2022. This meeting report includes the discussions and conclusions made on the suitability of existing metrics for assessment and monitoring of healthy diets nationally and globally. It also includes a workplan roadmap for the HDMI for the next two years towards the development of a global guidance on healthy diets metrics.
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