Estimating the Micronutrient Adequacy of the Food Supply Using Food Balance Sheets for Targeted Nutrition-sensitive Agricultural Approaches: Example of Bangladesh

Nutrition security describes the adequacy of the food supply to meet not only energy but also macronutrient and micronutrient requirements for the population. The aim of this study was to develop a method to assess trends in national nutrition security and the contribution of imports to nutrition security, using the UK as a case study. Food supply data from FAO food balance sheets and national food composition tables were used to estimate the nutrient content of domestically produced food, imported food and exported food. Nutrition security was defined as the total nutrient supply (domestic production, minus exports, plus imports) to meet population-level nutrient requirements. The results showed that the UK was nutrition secure over the period 1961–2011 for energy, macronutrients and key micronutrients, with the exception of total carbohydrates and fibre, which may be due to the loss of fibre incurred by processing cereals into refined products. The supply of protein exceeded population requirements and could be met with domestic production alone. Even excluding all meat there was sufficient protein for population requirements. The supply of total fat, saturated fat and sugar considerably exceeded the current dietary recommendation. As regards nutrition security in 2010, the UK was reliant on imported foods to meet energy, fibre, total carbohydrate, iron, zinc and vitamin A requirements. This analysis demonstrates the importance of including nutrients other than energy to determine the adequacy of the food supply. The methodology also provides an alternative perspective on food security and self-sufficiency by assessing the dependency on imports to meet population level nutritional requirements.

ABSTRACTNationally representative data on vitamin D intake can inform on the adequacy of dietary supply of vitamin D in a population, but such data is lacking for a majority of countries. Estimates of average per capita supply of vitamin D, as calculated using information from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) national food balance sheets (FBSs) can be used as proxy measures for vitamin D intake within a population. In the present work, FAO national FBSs (from 2004 to 2017) for 173 to 178 countries around the globe were used to generate such average per capita vitamin D supply estimates. For countries where food fortification with vitamin D was common, the estimates accounted for this. Using the 2004–2013 FBS data, there was a large range in average per capita vitamin D supply ranging from 0.3 (Ethiopia) to 17.8 (Maldives) μg/d. Globally, 40, 60, 70, four, two, and two countries had average per capita vitamin D supply estimates <1.5, 1.6–3, 3.1–5.5, 5.6–7.5, 7.6–10, and >10 μg/d, respectively. Pelagic fish was the major contributory food commodity (supplying 53%–86%) in countries with supply >7.6 μg/d. Median per capita vitamin D supply estimates for constituent countries within Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania were 1.4, 2.7, 2.8, 4.1, and 4.7 μg/d, respectively. These overall supply trends were mirrored in the newer, 2014–2017 FBS data. Fortification of milk and dairy or wheat flour with vitamin D had an important impact on the vitamin D supply estimates (average increments of 1.6 and 3.1 μg/d, respectively). Overall, the work showed how the per capita daily vitamin D supply estimates, as surrogate for vitamin D intake data, can highlight countries where inadequacy of supply may be of concern. It also shows how fortification of food with vitamin D can have an important impact on addressing low vitamin D intake. © 2021 The Author. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Among African pastoralists evidence that wealth is associated with other measures of household success is scant and the significance of wealth differentials for family welfare remains poorly understood. Predictions that wealth in livestock is associated with increased adequacy of household food supply and with improved child nutrition are tested with longitudinal data on herd size, household composition, food supply, and anthropometric status collected in 1992 for a sample of traditional Datoga households (n = 20) living in the Eyasi basin in northern Tanzania. Although a majority subsisted below poverty cutoffs estimated for east African pastoral populations, there was large variation among households in measures of wealth and resource availability. Individuals in relatively wealthy households did not appear to benefit either in terms of adequacy of household food supply or in terms of average growth performance of young children. Theoretical and methodological challenges in the study of the relationship between wealth and health in nomadic pastoralists are discussed.

The continuous upward trajectory observed in total grain production serves as a fundamental pillar for guaranteeing food security. Nevertheless, relying solely on the measurement of China’s overall food security status through total grain output is inherently biased and neglects to capture the comprehensive nature of food security. This study adopts a food supply and demand balance perspective and constructs an evaluation indicator system for food security based on indicators such as grain yield per unit area, per capita grain possession, grain inventory, and inventory ratio. The weight of each indicator in the food security system is calculated using the entropy value method, and a comprehensive evaluation of China’s food security level from 1980 to 2017 is conducted. The study revealed that China’s food supply and demand exhibited a discernible upward trajectory in development. Notably, the food supply demonstrated greater volatility, whereas the food demand remained relatively stable but experienced incremental growth. Between approximately 1985 and 1993, China’s food supply and demand subsystem briefly experienced a state of mild imbalance, followed by a state of moderate imbalance around 2003. These imbalances were primarily attributed to insufficient effective food supply. In terms of the equilibrium between supply and demand in the context of food security, China’s food supply and demand exhibit a predominantly balanced condition with a slight surplus, wherein the adequacy of food supply significantly influences food security. Furthermore, the provision of policy support serves as a robust assurance for food security, and China’s existing policy framework for food security demonstrates a constructive impact.

The impact of agroforestry on food security of upland farmers is least recognized and appreciated given that the linkage between them is quite complex and not well understood. The crucial role of agroforestry in enhancing food supply and augmenting family income is commonly ignored. This study aimed to get a deeper understanding of the role of agroforestry in ensuring food security of farming households in the Philippine uplands. A combination of participatory approaches including participatory rural appraisal, household survey, focused group discussions, field experiments and simulation modeling were used for the study conducted in Claveria, Northern Mindanao, Philippines. The first major finding was that the prime responsibility for ensuring adequacy of food production and supply for the farming households rested on the husband and wife. The second major finding based on the simulation results was that agroforestry increased and stabilized corn yields under hedgerow system. Moreover, fruits from perennial crops and trees served as secondary food crops especially during lean months of food supply. The last major finding was that the adoption of agroforestry significantly increased the level of benefits by around 42–137%, compared with the low income from continuous annual monocropping. The key to making upland farm households food secure is to increase the productivity of their farms and home gardens. A good start is to promote the agroforestry system in upland areas, and it is thereby recommended that both national and local government units mainstream their policies and efforts toward promotion of agroforestry adoption in the Philippine uplands.

In every region of the world, poor diet is a leading cause of both malnutrition and chronic diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and specific cancers. (1-3) In 2013, 38.3 million deaths occurred due to chronic diseases globally (70% of all deaths), with most of these deaths occurring in developing countries. (4) Anecdotal evidence and more formal evaluations in a limited number of countries suggest that changes in traditional eating patterns and a growing reliance on new types of foods are major drivers of these transitions. However, data on global patterns of dietary habits, as well as differences by population characteristics are not well established. An empirical assessment of dietary intakes is needed for evidence-based policy-making to address global health challenges. In most nations worldwide, assessment of dietary habits has been limited by the absence of robust data on individual dietary intakes that can be used in comparative studies. Up to now, most global analyses have evaluated only single dietary factors or have used data on crude household expenditure or national food supply estimates that do not adequately capture individuals' actual consumption levels. (5,6) Moreover, types of foods consumed and diet-related diseases are often unevenly distributed within populations and it is therefore essential to collect data on specific demographic groups to understand the impact of diets on diseases. Furthermore, even when individual dietary intakes are available, these are rarely standardized or comparable across countries or time, due to differences in the data collection instruments and their intended use, in the design and administration of surveys, and in data processing and analysis. As part of our efforts for the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases study, we systematically identified the available data from national and subnational surveys of individual-based dietary intakes of key foods and nutrients worldwide, by age, sex, country and time (1980-2010). Our preliminary methods have been reported (7) and further details are available from the corresponding author on request. Briefly, we searched multiple electronic databases and used extensive personal communications with researchers and government authorities worldwide to identify and obtain nationally representative dietary intake surveys or, if these were unavailable, large subnational surveys. For countries without identified national or subnational individual-level dietary surveys, we searched for individual-level surveys from large cohort studies as well as other data sources on diet such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Infobase, the WHO STEPS database and household expenditure surveys. For trans-unsaturated fatty acids (trans-fats) and dietary sodium, we also searched for biomarker surveys measuring circulating or adipose trans-fat concentrations or 24-hour urinary sodium excretion. Finally, we used the comprehensive United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) food balance sheets, (8) which provide country-level data on per capita food availability for major food groups in 187 countries and across the entire time period studied. For trans-fat, we also included industry estimates of nation-specific availability of partially hydrogenated oil, total oils/ fats and total packaged foods per capita from both retail and food-service establishments in 79 countries (Mark Stavro, Bunge LLC, personal communication, 23 May 2012). Due to the limited amount of relevant published data, most survey data were obtained by direct contacts with researchers and officials. By combining all these sources of information, including adjusted FAO data and industry estimates, our final estimates were derived from dietary information drawn from 187 countries. We included data from 325 dietary surveys and 145 urinary sample surveys. The total number of individuals sampled in each surveyed country ranged from several hundred to more than 10000. …

Total Diet Studies — Experiences in the United States

To examine the ecological association between population asthma symptom prevalence in six to seven year-old children and per capita sugar consumption seven years earlier (during the perinatal period). The asthma data (from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood [ISAAC] study) were collected between 1999 and 2004 from 53 countries, and per capita sugar consumption data (seven years before the asthma prevalence) were extracted from United Nations Food and Agriculture (UNFAO) food balance sheets. Linear regression and Spearman's rank coefficient were used to evaluate the relationship between exposure and disease outcome. Per capita sugar consumption varied more than six fold-between countries. A log-linear relationship was found between severe asthma symptoms (%) and per capita added sugar consumption in kg/capita/year (exponentiated beta coefficient 1.020; 95% CI 1.005 to 1.034; P = 0.012). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was 0.34 (P= 0.015), which indicates moderate correlation. We have demonstrated an ecological association between sugar consumption during the perinatal period and subsequent risk of severe asthma symptoms in six and seven year-olds.

The Effect of Revised Australian Food Composition Tables on Estimates of Foods and Nutrients Available for National Consumption, 1983-84

Los servicios de cafeterías y la promoción de la salud en el entorno escolar

Barbados has been experiencing increasing rates of obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases characteristic of a country in nutrition transition. However, few studies have been carried out on how precisely the diet has changed in recent decades. Our aim was to analyse the FAO food balance sheets for Barbados from 1961 to 2003 in order to characterise the changes that have taken place in the macronutrient supply of the country during that period. Annual food balance sheets were downloaded from the FAOSTAT database, and per capita supply for twelve commodity groupings was analysed for energy and macronutrient levels using WISP dietary analysis software (Tinuviel Software, Llanfechell, Anglesey, UK). The food supply in 2003 provided over 2500 kJ (about 600 kcal) more energy per capita per d than it did in 1961. Energy from carbohydrate as a percentage of total energy has fallen from 70% in 1961 to 57% in 2003 and is now at the lower end of WHO recommendations. Energy from fat as a percentage of total energy increased from 19% to 28% and now lies at the upper end of WHO recommendations. Sugars, at over 17% of dietary energy, are well above the upper limit set by the WHO. Despite having methodological limitations associated with the use of food balance statistics, our data suggest that these imbalances need to be addressed as a matter of priority in order to try to reverse the incidence of nutrition-related chronic diseases that are projected to cause increasing disability and premature death in the country in the coming years.

Needs-based food and nutrient security indices to monitor and modify the food supply and intakes: Taiwan, 1991–2010

Various methods of estimating food consumption, such as food balance sheets (FBS) and household surveys (HS), have been developed over the years and have been used to inform, monitor and evaluate nutrition policies. Because these methods vary in their objectives and data collection procedures, the objective of this study has been to elaborate FBS data for Spain and to study the consistency of fat, carbohydrate and protein intake trends, as measured by FBS and HS, for the period 1958 to 1988. Food balance sheets were elaborated by the authors according to the methodology of FAO using all available data sources for the 1958-1988 period. This data considered every major food item contributing to the total energy intake of the spanish population. Household survey data were taken from three similar national household budget surveys carried out on a representative sample of the Spanish population in 1958, 1964-1965, and 1980-1981. Estimates of food consumption were transformed into macronutrient intake by applying standard food tables. When macronutrient intake were expressed in absolute amounts, an unexpected finding was the tendency of the household surveys to overestimate food balance sheet data for fat, and to a lesser extent protein and carbohydrate, intake during the first years in the series. Also, the slopes of the trends of macronutrient intake were significantly (p < 0.05) greater for food balance sheets than for household survey data, specially for fat. When macronutrient intake were expressed as percent of total energy, differences between the two types of data tended to diminish and heterogeneity of slopes disappeared. We conclude that household survey and food supply data provide partially different information on macronutrient intake trends in the Spanish population for the period 1958-1988. The discrepancy is particularly noticeable for fat intake and when data are expressed in absolute amounts.

Increasing number and activity of the population to meet the needs of their lives greatly affect the utilization of land resources. Land needs for activities of the population continue to grow, while the availability of land is limited. Therefore, there will be changes in land use. As a result, the problems faced by land degradation and conversion of agricultural land become non-agricultural. The objectives of this research are: (1) to determine parameter of spatial numerical classification of sustainable food agriculture in Badung Regency and Denpasar City (2) to know the projection of food balance in Badung Regency and Denpasar City in 2020, 2030, 2040, and 2050 (3) to specify of function of spatial numerical classification in the making of zonation model of sustainable agricultural land area in Badung regency and Denpasar city (4) to determine the appropriate model of the area to protect sustainable agricultural land in spatial and time scale in Badung and Denpasar regencies. The method used in this research was quantitative method include: survey, soil analysis, spatial data development, geoprocessing analysis (spatial analysis of overlay and proximity analysis), interpolation of raster digital elevation model data, and visualization (cartography). Qualitative methods consisted of literature studies, and interviews. The parameters observed for a total of 11 parameters Badung regency and Denpasar as much as 9 parameters. Numerical classification parameter analysis results used the standard deviation and the mean of the population data and projections relationship rice field in the food balance sheet by modelling. The result of the research showed that, the number of different numerical classification parameters in rural areas (Badung) and urban areas (Denpasar), in urban areas the number of parameters is less than the rural areas. The based on numerical classification weighting and scores generate population distribution parameter analysis results of a standard deviation and average value. Numerical classification produced 5 models, which was divided into three zones are sustainable neighbourhood, buffer and converted in Denpasar and Badung. The results of Population curve parameter analysis in Denpasar showed normal curve, in contrast to the Badung regency showed abnormal curve, therefore Denpasar modeling carried out throughout the region, while in the Badung regency modeling done in each district. Relationship modelling and projections lands role in food balance in Badung views of sustainable land area whereas in Denpasar seen from any connection to the green open spaces in the spatial plan Denpasar 2011-2031. Modelling in Badung (rural) is different in Denpasar (urban), as well as population curve parameter analysis results in Badung showed abnormal curve while in Denpasar showed normal curve. Relationship modelling and projections lands role in food balance in the Badung regency sustainable in terms of land area, while in Denpasar in terms of linkages with urban green space in Denpasar City’s regional landuse plan of 2011-2031.

The efforts of the United States to achieve national food security, in terms of adequacy and sustainability of the food supply, equity and access to food by the entire population, nutritional quality, and the social, economic, and health benefits of our food system, have had, by and large, a negative international impact. Policy has historically sought for adequate supplies of food, has attempted to place food in the marketplace at low prices, and has attempted to maintain a viable farm economy and rural community. Each presidential administration has different policy emphases. In the Truman years, the emphasis was upon flexible but permanent controls on parity, with an eye on the welfare of the small family farm. The defeat of the Brannan plan by powerful interest groups shifted the emphasis away from the small producer. Every nation faces the need for a new social understanding about relationships of people to the environment and ecosystems in their physical and biological context.