Trends in dietary patterns and compliance with World Health Organization recommendations: a cross-country analysis

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate time patterns of compliance with nutrient goals recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Design: A single aggregated indicator of distance from the key WHO recommendations for a healthy diet is built using FAOSTAT intake data, bounded between 0 (maximum possible distance from goals) and 1 (perfect adherence). Two hypotheses are tested for different country groupings: (1) whether adherence has improved over time; and (2) whether cross-country disparities in terms of diet healthiness have decreased. Setting: One hundred and forty-nine countries, including 26 countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and 115 developing countries (including 43 least developed countries), with yearly data over the period . Results: The Recommendation Compliance Index (RCI) shows significant improvements in adherence to WHO goals for both developing and especially OECD countries. The latter group of countries show the highest levels of the RCI and the largest increase over time, especially between 1981 and 2002. No improvement is detected for least developed countries. A reduction in disparities (convergence of the RCI) is observed only within the OECD grouping. Conclusions: Adherence to healthy eating guidelines depends on economic development. Diets are improving and converging in advanced economies, but developing and especially least developed countries are still far from meeting WHO nutrition goals. This confirms findings on the double burden of malnutrition and suggests that economic drivers are more relevant than socio-cultural factors in determining the healthiness of diets.

Healthy diet: Health impact, prevalence, correlates, and interventions

“…A large body of epidemiologic data illustrates that low SES is associated with unhealthier diet, higher levels of obesity and more diet-related diseases (e.g. Darmon & Drewnowski, 2008;De Irala-Estévez et al, 2000;Hulshof, Brussaard, Kruizinga, Telman, & Löwik, 2003;Mazzocchi, Brasili, & Sandri, 2008;Pechey et al, 2013). SES differences in diet are particularly manifested in food groups rather than in nutrients (Pechey et al, 2013).…”

Dietary trends in the Middle East and North Africa: an ecological study (1961 to 2007)

“…The food balance sheet is compiled annually and is an international resource of a country's food availability during a certain period (20,22) . Food availability is derived from production, supply, different usages and wastages of food and indicates apparent consumption instead of real consumption (19,23) .…”

“…The high prevalence of NCD worldwide, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, has been attributed to rapid changes in the structure of dietary patterns (2,4,13,(15)(16)(17) . Findings from several studies that investigated changes in dietary patterns in the European Union, Latin American and Mediterranean countries (6,(18)(19)(20) have revealed similar patterns of dietary change and food availability worldwide. In all the regions mentioned, an increase in sugar, animal products and fat intakes and a decrease in the availability of vegetable products have been documented, and these dietary changes have been associated with the burden of NCD in these countries.…”

Which Food Patterns Are Predictors of Obesity in Tehranian Adults?

“…1 For developing countries that are still far from achieving World Health Organization (WHO) nutrition goals, obesity greatly increases the burden of malnutrition. 2 Recent studies in Tehran have shown that the prevalence of abdominal obesity was 36.5%, 57.2%, and 63.3% in men and 76.7%, 83.8%, and 83.6% in women in the 3 periods 1999-2001, 2002-2005, and 2006-2008, respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 15.8%, 18.6%, and 21% in men and 31.5%, 37.7%, and 38.6% in women, respectively, in the 3 periods mentioned.…”