healthy diets

This annual report 2019 summarizes its research results, across five research flagships, and highlights the partnerships through which research has led to outcomes. A4NH works to develop evidence to support policies and actions for healthier food systems. »

This report assesses the state of food security and nutrition in the world, and attempts to foresee impact of COVID-19. The critical link between food security and nutrition outcomes are food consumption and diet quality. New analysis determines that the cost of the diet increases incrementally as diet quality increases. The hidden costs for health and environment translate into actual costs for individuals and society. »

This article states that improving food safety and nutrition security, requires innovations that simultaneously increase the supply and demand for vegetables. In the current context of global malnutrition, the importance of investing in vegetable research and innovations, is more relevant than ever. »

This discussion paper identified a large set of research questions that, if answered, could shed light on both how the food system in Bangladesh works, and the rate of change of food system transformation in Bangladesh. Both government interventions and innovations are needed to help shift the national food system to improve nutrient-dense food availability, particularly among the poor, and to limit the increase in processed food consumption. »

This article focuses on the issue that urban food security, or its lack, is attracting growing interest in global policy debates. The researchers argue that the voices of the urban poor are missing in these conversations. To fill this gap, grassroots community organizations, with decades-long experience collecting data on their own communities and taking action to improve conditions, decided to ask the urban poor in Cambodia and Nepal how they define and measure food security, what key challenges they face in the daily struggle to put food on the table and what actions might help. »

This report focuses on the concern that urbanization will have profound effects on eating patterns and increase the risk of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. It is found that individuals who relocated to urban areas experience a much more pronounced shift away from the consumption of traditional staples, and towards more high-sugar, conveniently consumed and prepared foods. Living in an urban environment is not found to contribute positively to the intake of protein-rich foods, nor to diet diversity. Moreover, the results indicate that the growth of unhealthy food consumption with urbanization is largely linked to rising incomes. »