Abstract
Globally, more than 800 million people are undernourished while >2 billion people have one or more chronic micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs). More than 6% of global mortality and morbidity burdens are associated with undernourishment and MNDs. Here we show that, in 2011, 3.5 and 1.1 billion people were at risk of calcium (Ca) and zinc (Zn) deficiency respectively due to inadequate dietary supply. The global mean dietary supply of Ca and Zn in 2011 was 684 ± 211 and 16 ± 3 mg capita−1 d−1 (±SD) respectively. Between 1992 and 2011, global risk of deficiency of Ca and Zn decreased from 76 to 51%, and 22 to 16%, respectively. Approximately 90% of those at risk of Ca and Zn deficiency in 2011 were in Africa and Asia. To our knowledge, these are the first global estimates of dietary Ca deficiency risks based on food supply. We conclude that continuing to reduce Ca and Zn deficiency risks through dietary diversification and food and agricultural interventions including fortification, crop breeding and use of micronutrient fertilisers will remain a significant challenge.
Highlights
More than 800 million people are undernourished while >2 billion people have one or more chronic micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs)
Food security is essential to human wellbeing[1,2,3,4] and a central component of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations (UN)[5]
The estimated prevalence of inadequate dietary energy supply decreased from 18.7% to 11.3% at global and 23.4% to 13.5% for developing countries between 1990/2 and 2011/146, trends in MNDs for all essential mineral nutrients at various geospatial scales have not been quantified over this period
Summary
More than 800 million people are undernourished while >2 billion people have one or more chronic micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs). The estimated prevalence of inadequate dietary energy supply decreased from 18.7% to 11.3% at global and 23.4% to 13.5% for developing countries between 1990/2 and 2011/146, trends in MNDs for all essential mineral nutrients at various geospatial scales have not been quantified over this period. Where reliable tissue biomarkers are lacking and for larger population sizes, MND risks can be quantified from dietary analyses or surveys incorporating food composition data[14]. The WtdEAR changes slightly between countries and years due to the difference in the population composition and size of the various countries the EAR for each age/gender group did not change with time Those with intakes of Ca and Zn less than the WtdEAR were classed as being at risk of dietary deficiency. For regional-, continental- and global-level analyses, national-level data were weighted by the population size of each country
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