POOR DIETARY IS WORSE THAN DRUG ABUSE - EXPERT

It sounds silly but this is true “What could be worse for your health and wellbeing than unsafe sex, alcohol dependence, drug abuse and tobacco use? But poor dietary is worst says a researcher. Lamenting that poor nutrition could be more hazardous to health than that all of the listed factors put together.

It is estimated that over three billion people across 193 countries of the world have low-quality diets, which contribute to malnutrition and health outcomes, while leading to stunted growth and development.

A new report by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition – an independent group of influential experts with a commitment to tackling global challenges in food and nutrition security – says that the burden of malnutrition is equivalent to that of experiencing a global financial crisis every year.

The report entitled: “Food Systems and Diets: Facing the Challenges of the 21st Century” outlines the toll that malnutrition takes on individuals and nations today, while also forecasting the expanding costs and consequences if these trends continue.

The report, launched last week by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), gives guidelines for governments and decision-makers to change course through action and investment to create food systems that promote health and deliver quality diets.

Noting that sale of ultra-processed food and beverages rose from one-third of those in high income countries in 2000 to more than half by 2016, the report remarks that today’s food systems are too focused on quantity and not enough on quality.

If something is not done to checkmate the menace, the situation is set to worsen drastically over the next 20 years as population growth, climate change and urbanization converge on food systems.

And also, without substantial changes in policies and investments by 2030, the number of weighty and obese people will have increased from 1.33 billion in 2005 to 3.28 billion, or one-third of the projected global population.

Former President of Ghana and co-chair of the Global Panel, John Kufuor, while reacting to the development says nutrition is not about just feeding people, but about powering life and the growth of individuals, communities and nations.

“If we do not reshape food systems to prioritize nutrition, we are missing an opportunity to create a stronger, healthier and more prosperous future,” Kuffor decried.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina who is also the President of the African Development Bank and member of the Global Panel, argues that nuey5hpktrition is not just a health and social development issue, but an investment that can spur economic growth.

Former UK Chief Scientific Advisor and co-chair of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, Sir John Beddington has this to say: “The level of effort required to address this problem is not dissimilar to fervor with which the international community confronted HIV/AIDS, malaria and other pandemic diseases. If we do not act, we will fail to unleash the full potential of millions of people around the world,” he warned

Report Author and Chair of the Project’s Lead Expert Group, Lawrence Haddad, says the world’s food systems are failing. “The foods that are produced, affordable and chosen have been changing fast and will continue to do so. Now is the time to take action to ensure that food systems and nutrition are helping to power fuel development—not hold it back.”

Data from the report shows that while income growth can help to alleviate hunger, it does not guarantee accessibility to healthier, quality diets. While many people today have better diets than before, the intake of foods that undermine diet quality has increased even faster.

We must understand that food systems should be at the centre of global action, including the Sustainable Development Goals, observing that while policy must be designed to meet country needs, priority actions at the global and national levels should also include prioritization in other areas.