What is the role of nutritional epidemiology in assessing the global impact of food trade?
This article explores the world of nutrition epidemiology, and the crucial role it plays in assessing the impact of global trade on the nutritional quality our diets. This article will explain why it is important to understand this area, give insights into key aspects to consider, show examples of assessments, and provide tips to help you better grasp the subject. Unwrapping the complexity of global food trading and its impact on diet nutrition is important.
Assessment of Global Food Trade Impact is Important
It is important to understand how the global food trade impacts on nutritional quality in diets, as it has a profound impact on public health worldwide. Food trade is becoming increasingly globalized. This has an impact on affordability and accessibility of foods, as well as the overall quality.
Plos One published a study in 2014 that showed globalization in food trade was associated with changes in diet composition and an increase in calories. This can cause obesity and other non-communicable disease. The assessment of nutritional epidemiologists can guide policy for healthier food environments, and help combat global malnutrition.
Important Points To Note
It's crucial to remember that there are multiple factors at play when evaluating the global impact of food trade. This includes data collection techniques, socio-economic factors underlying regional farming practices and climate change. In its report "Global Syndemic of Obesity", The Lancet highlights the importance of considering these factors in order to make an accurate assessment.
Example of Assessments
- Data on food exports and imports: Food epidemiologists use these data often to monitor changes in the availability of foods across different countries.
- Surveys on diet: They help to understand the changing patterns of consumption and their impact due to international food trade.
- It is used as a way to rank or classify foods according to their nutritional content. This helps to understand the impact of food trade on nutrient composition in diets.
- Research on food environment: It involves examining how availability and access to different kinds of foods within specific environments may influence dietary decisions.
- These studies take place over an extended period of time and give insight into the impact that changes in food trade on dietary habits and health outcomes.
Other Tips
It is recommended that those who are interested in the field follow global food policy developments, keep up with nutritional epidemiology research , and learn about the social-political aspect of food trade. Websites of the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization are great resources.
Conclusion
Nutritional epidemiology is a key component in the assessment of how global trade affects diet quality. It provides valuable insights through methods such as dietary surveys and longitudinal studies . Understanding these assessments is becoming increasingly important as we grapple with challenges such as malnutrition and obesity.
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