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WHO Technical Report Series916
Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
WHO Technical Report Series
916
Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Shifting dietary patterns, a decline in energy expenditure associated with a sedentary lifestyle, an ageing population - together with tobacco use and alcohol consumption - are major risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and pose an increasing challenge to public health.
This report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation reviews the evidence on the effects of diet and nutrition on chronic diseases and makes recommendations for public health policies and strategies that encompass societal, behavioural and ecological dimensions. Although the primary aim of the Consultation was to set targets related to diet and nutrition, the importance of physical activity was also emphasized.
The Consultation considered diet in the context of the macroeconomic implications of public health recommendations on agriculture and the global supply and demand for fresh and processed foodstuffs. In setting out ways to decrease the burden of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (including hypertension and stroke), cancer, dental diseases and osteoporosis, this report proposes that nutrition should be placed at the forefront of public health policies and programmes.
This report will be of interest to policy-makers and public health professionals alike, in a wide range of disciplines including nutrition, general medicine and gerontology. It shows how, at the population level, diet and exercise throughout the life course can reduce the threat of a global epidemic of chronic diseases.
Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases
2.1 The global burden of chronic diseases
2.2 The double burden of diseases in the developing world
2.3 An integrated approach to diet-related and nutrition-related diseases
References
3. Global and regional food consumption patterns and trends
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Developments in the availability of dietary energy
3.3 Availability and changes in consumption of dietary fat
3.4 Availability and changes in consumption of animal products
3.5 Availability and consumption of fish
3.6 Availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables
3.7 Future trends in demand, food availability and consumption
3.8 Conclusions
References
4. Diet, nutrition and chronic diseases in context
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases through the life course4.2.1 Fetal development and the maternal environment
4.2.2 Infancy
4.2.3 Childhood and adolescence
4.2.4 Adulthood
4.2.5 Ageing and older people4.3 Interactions between early and later factors throughout the life course
4.3.1 Clustering of risk factors
4.3.2 Intergenerational effects4.4 Gene-nutrient interactions and genetic susceptibility
4.5 Intervening throughout life
References
5. Population nutrient intake goals for preventing diet-related chronic diseases
5.1.1 Background
5.1.2 Strength of evidence
5.1.3 A summary of population nutrient intake goals
References5.2 Recommendations for preventing excess weight gain and obesity
5.2.1 Background
5.2.2 Trends
5.2.3 Diet, physical activity and excess weight gain and obesity
5.2.4 Strength of evidence
5.2.5 General strategies for obesity prevention
5.2.6 Disease-specific recommendations
References5.3 Recommendations for preventing diabetes
5.3.1 Background
5.3.2 Trends
5.3.3 Diet, physical activity and diabetes
5.3.4 Strength of evidence
5.3.5 Disease-specific recommendations
References5.4 Recommendations for preventing cardiovascular diseases
5.4.1 Background
5.4.2 Trends
5.4.3 Diet, physical activity and cardiovascular disease
5.4.4 Strength of evidence
5.4.5 Disease-specific recommendations
References5.5 Recommendations for preventing cancer
5.5.1 Background
5.5.2 Trends
5.5.3 Diet, physical activity and cancer
5.5.4 Strength of evidence
5.5.5 Disease-specific recommendations
References5.6 Recommendations for preventing dental diseases
5.6.1 Background
5.6.2 Trends
5.6.3 Diet and dental disease
5.6.4 Strength of evidence
5.6.5 Disease-specific recommendations
References5.7 Recommendations for preventing osteoporosis
5.7.1 Background
5.7.2 Trends
5.7.3 Diet, physical activity and osteoporosis
5.7.4 Strength of evidence
5.7.5 Disease-specific recommendations
References
6. Strategic directions and recommendations for policy and research
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Policy principles for the promotion of healthy diets and physical activity
6.3 Prerequisites for effective strategies6.3.1 Leadership for effective action
6.3.2 Effective communication
6.3.3 Functioning al liances and partnerships
6.3.4 Enabling environments6.4 Strategic actions for promoting healthy diets and physical activity
6.4.1 Surveillance of people’s diets, physical activity and related disease burden
6.4.2 Enabling people to make informed choices and take effective action
6.4.3 Making the best use of standards and legislation
6.4.4 Ensuring that “healthy diet” components are available to all
6.4.5 Achieving success through intersectoral initiatives
6.4.6 Making the best of health services and the professionals who provide them
Selected WHO publications of related interest
The World Health Organization was established in 1948 as a specialized agency of the United Nations serving as the directing and coordinating authority for international health matters and public health. One of WHO's constitutional functions is to provide objective and reliable information and advice in the field of human health, a responsibility that it fulfils in part through its extensive programme of publications.
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To ensure the widest possible availability of authoritative information and guidance on health matters, WHO secures the broad international distribution of its publications and encourages their translation and adaptation. By helping to promote and protect health and prevent and control disease throughout the world, WHO's books contribute to achieving the Organization's principal objective - the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health.
The WHO Technical Report Series makes available the findings of various international groups of experts that provide WHO with the latest scientific and technical advice on a broad range of medical and public health subjects. Members of such expert groups serve without remuneration in their personal capacities rather than as representatives of governments or other bodies; their views do not necessarily reflect the decisions or the stated policy of WHO. An annual subscription to this series, comprising about six such reports, costs Sw. fr. 132.-or US$ 106.- (Sw. fr. 92.40 in developing countries). For further information, please contact Marketing and Dissemination, World Health Organization, 20 avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (tel.: +41 22 791 2476; fax: +41 22 791 4857; e-mail: [email protected]).
This report contains the collective views of an international group of experts and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the World Health Organization or of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
World Health Organization
Geneva 2003
WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of
Chronic Diseases (2002: Geneva, Switzerland)
Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of a joint WHO/FAO
expert consultation, Geneva, 28 January - 1 February 2002.
(WHO technical report series; 916)
1. Chronic disease - epidemiology 2. Diet - standards
3. Feeding behavior 4. Energy metabolism 5. Motor activity
6. Cost of illness I. Title II. Series.
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ISBN 92 4 120916 X |
(NLM classification: QU 145) |
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ISSN 0512-3054 |
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© World Health Organization 2003
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This publication contains the collective views of an international group of experts and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the World Health Organization or of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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