The nutrition challenge: food system solutions

Overview

The way food is produced, marketed and made available to people has changed tremendously in the past 50 years. Many advances have been made, leading to more efficient food supply chains which have in turn generated improvements in food security and nutrition. Yet, malnutrition in all its forms continues to be one of the greatest challenges faced by our generation, and unhealthy diets are among the leading causes of death and disability.

In some parts of the world, people are not eating sufficient amounts of food to provide the calories, vitamins and minerals they need for optimal health, while in others, people are eating far more food than is necessary for their health and well-being, or simply too much of foods high in fat, sugar and/or salt.

This brief describes what parliamentarians need to know about the current nutrition situation in the world and how our food systems are shaping food environments that steer people towards unhealthy diets which are one of the causal factors of malnutrition. Parliamentarians are well placed to facilitate action to transform the world’s current food systems. This brief gives concrete examples of measures through which policymakers can influence food systems so as to promote healthy diets and prevent malnutrition in all its forms, including undernourishment, stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity, as well as diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).