Medical brain notes 38

  Food and Nutrition-Related Diseases: The Global Challenge Introduction   The relationship between nutrition and health was summarized, illustrating that the nutritional quality and quantity of foods eaten, and there-fore nutritional status, are major modifiable factors in promoting health and well-being, in preventing disease, and in treating some diseases. It is now accepted that our nutritional status influences our health and risk of both infectious and non-communicable diseases.   But it is also accepted that billions of people in both developed and developing countries suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition, contributing to the global burden of disease. Mankind has an inherent preference for palatable, sugary, salty, fatty and smooth (finely textured, refined) foods. These foods are mostly energy-dense and low in micronutrients. Food production, processing, manufacturing, marketing and promotion have responded to this preference by making high energy-dense f...

  Nutrition-related diseases in developed countries   The current situation   Economic development, education, food security, and access to health care and immunization programs in developed countries have resulted in dramatic decreases in undernutrition-related diseases. Un-fortunately, many of these factors have also led to unhealthy behaviors, inappropriate diets, and lack of physical activity, which has exacerbated the develop-ment of chronic diseases, also known as noncommu-nicable diseases (NCDs). These NCDs are now the main contributors to the health burden in developed countries (these are countries with established market economies).   In 2002, 28.2 million global deaths (58.6%) were from NCDs. In the same year the predicted mortality for 2020 was 49.6 million (72.6% of all deaths). This is an increase from 448 to 548 deaths per 100,000, despite an overall downward trend in mortality rates. Although the burden will fall increasingly on developing countries N...

  Nutrition-related diseases in developing countries   The poverty–malnutrition cycle   Malnutrition in developing countries affects individ-uals throughout the life course: from birth to infancy and childhood, through adolescence into adulthood, and into old age. Malnutrition affects, therefore, criti-cal periods of growth and mental development, maturation, active reproductive as well as economical productive phases.   The health of populations in developing countries is largely determined by their environment. “Environ-mental” factors include social and economic con-ditions depending on and influencing availability and distribution of resources, agricultural and food systems, availability and access to nutritious food and safe drinking water, implementation of immuniza-tion programs, exposure to unhygienic surroundings and toxins, women’s status and education, as well as the “political” milieu including dictatorships, conflict, and war, which often determine the a...

  HIV/AIDS   Introduction   Infection with HIV and the consequent development of AIDS is a global pandemic already responsible for more than half of total deaths in some developing countries. It is estimated that since the early 1980s when the syndrome was described and the virus iden-tified, this infectious disease has already killed more than 25 million people, including at least half a million children. A third of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than half of the 33.4–46 million people currently infected with HIV live. The pandemic has a devastating and tragic social, eco-nomic and demographic impact on previous devel-opment and health gains in developing countries. It affects mostly young, sexually active adults in their reproductive years as well as babies born from infected mothers. To understand the nutritional challenges of HIV/AIDS it is necessary to understand how the virus is transmitted and to follow the clinical course of the infection....

  Background In developed countries these are mainly childhood and adult obesity and the NCDs related to a combination of overnutrition, lack of activity, smoking, alcohol abuse, and stressful lifestyles. In developing countries the magnitude of undernutrition is staggering. Moreover, obesity and NCDs have emerged in these countries and are increasingly becoming major causes of mortality. This double burden is further exacer-bated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.   Dietary patterns responsible for the problems   The dietary patterns and nutrient intakes responsible and contributing to these problems have been inten-sively researched in epidemiological, clinical, and basic molecular studies. There is a huge body of sci-entific evidence available to identify the immediate deficiencies and excesses in intakes, as well as all the environmental factors associated with suboptimal dietary patterns that lead to the nutrition-related diseases. Broadly, these dietary problems can be summa...