•Even though progress in nutrition has been witnessed globally, major challenges still exist, for instance, obesity is on the rise
•Progress has been much slower in Africa and South-East Asia
Eating healthier diets from an early age will help reduce obesity and Non Communicable Diseases, a new report by the World Health Organisation says.
The report, Essential Nutrition Actions: Mainstreaming nutrition throughout the life course, calls for less consumption of free sugars, salt and saturated fat, particularly animal fat.
This, it says, will help reduce global trends of the rising burden of obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
“In order to provide quality health services and achieve Universal Health Coverage, nutrition should be positioned as one of the cornerstones of essential health packages,” assistant Director-General at WHO Dr Naoko Yamamoto says.
The report notes that even though progress in nutrition has been witnessed globally, major challenges still exist, for instance, obesity is on the rise.
“Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes; cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke); musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis, a highly disabling degenerative disease of the joints); and some cancers (including endometrial, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, and colon),” the report notes.
WHO cites progress made over the past three decades in combating undernutrition, as reflected in a global decline in stunting among children under the age of five years from more than 252 million children in 1990 to 149 million children in 2018.
Kenya has made significant progress in reducing the prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting from 35 per cent, 16 per cent and seven per cent in 2009 to 26 per cent, 11 per cent and four per cent in 2014.
Health CS Sicily Kariuki has attributed this to interventions such as maternal nutrition and education, vitamin and mineral supplementation to mothers and children, private sector involvement and mandatory fortification of wheat and maize flour with multiple micronutrients.
However, globally, the world now faces a “double burden” of malnutrition from inadequate food intake, as well as overconsumption of unhealthy foods.
Progress has been much slower in Africa and South-East Asia, the report states.
WHO suggests provision of iron and folic acid supplements as part of antenatal care and delaying umbilical cord clamping to ensure babies receive important nutrients they need after birth.
Other interventions include promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding.
“An increased focus on nutrition by the health services is key to addressing both aspects of the 'double burden' of malnutrition,” the report says.
The global health agency recommends that to combat obesity, hypertension and other NCDs, free sugars intake should be reduced to less than five per cent of total energy intake while salt intake should be reduced to less than five grams a day.
Fat intake should be reduced to not more than 30 per cent of total energy intake, saturated fats to less than 10 per cent of total energy and trans-fatty acids to less than one per cent.
The report suggests an increase in sodium intake to at least 3.5 grams a day and advises consumption of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
According to the report, severe acute malnutrition (undernutrition) affects nearly 20 million children under five years of age worldwide (in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa) and is estimated to contribute to approximately one million child deaths each year.
Vitamin A deficiency alone is responsible for six per cent of deaths in children aged under five years in Africa.