CANBERRA, Dec. 17, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – Diets all over the world are lacking
vitamins and minerals essential for healthy growth, Australia’s peak
scientific body found.
An analysis of global diets, released by the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Monday, revealed that the
worldwide intake of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin E and folate is likely to
remain inadequate through to 2050.
In poorer countries, the study projected that the intake of zinc, iron,
vitamin K and vitamin A would remain inadequate.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), micronutrient
deficiencies can impair intellectual development, stunt growth and weaken the
immune system.
WHO estimates that more than 2 billion people around the world suffer from
micronutrient deficiency.
“Global food security is not just about providing adequate calories,” CSIRO
study author Jessica Bogard said in a media release on Monday.
“A person can consume too many calories but still be malnourished.”
The study did find that nearly every country in the world is achieving
adequate carbohydrate and protein intake.
Researchers used current diets to create a trajectory of what the average
human diet would look like from now through to 2050.
They found that the biggest factors affecting food and nutrition security
in the near future would be climate change.
“A change in the climate combined with a change in people’s diets, as they
begin to earn more, will ultimately impact on our agricultural systems and
what gets grown where,” Bogard said.
“Improving farm productivity and economic growth alone is not going to be
enough to achieve nutritional security now and into the future. We must
refocus our efforts on dietary quality rather than quantity.”