The European Nutrition and Health Report is the first comprehensive assessment of the present status of nutrition and health in Europe, and of the available resources and requirements for compatible and representative data from different countries. 13 EU member states and Norway have participated in this project, pursuing three main goals: Compilation of available nutrient intake and health data Identification of major nutrition and health problems Identification of problems concerning the methods and compatibility of data collection The main topics include food supply and availability, energy and nutrient intake in different age groups, health indicators and status, obesity, physical activity and smoking. The Appendix offers a detailed publication of national reports and single projects. This book provides a solid basis for the planning of future projects in nutrition and health and should be of great interest to all professionals in the fields of nutrition, preventive medicine and public health as well as to health policy makers.

The main objective of the report at hand was to gather available and authorized data, both published and unpublished, on the nutrition and health situation in the countries of the European Union (EU). Whereas the first report, released in 2004, included 13 EU member states and Norway, the 2009 edition covers 24 EU member states and Norway. For the collection of data, the researchers concentrated on the following points: The description of trends in food supply in the EU, focusing also on the different regions; the comparison of average daily individual food availability at household level; the evaluation of individual food consumption and energy and nutrient intake; the description of data on diet-related health indicators and status; and the analysis of food and nutrition policies in countries of the European Union. Throughout, the impact of age and gender is emphasized, and special attention is being paid to the different regions of the EU. The broad scope of the subjects covered and the improved quality of the data collected make the European Nutrition and Health Report 2009 an accurate documentation and sound source of information. Providing a basis for the work of the institutions responsible for health and nutrition policy, it is especially suitable for use in international comparisons of the nutrition and health situation.

Awareness of the importance of nutrition and physical activity for good health has given rise to a multitude of projects with different scopes and methodologies. This variety makes it necessary to bring the results of these activities into a coordinated framework. This book aims to summarize the activities carried out by the EU countries to address these determinants of health. Contributors are drawn from Germany, Italy, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals comprehensively covers unique food traditions as they apply to health. The text explores the critical importance of cultural sensitivity and competency in today's work setting, addresses health literacy issues of diverse client bases, and helps readers identify customer communication techniques that enable professionals to establish trust with clients of ethnicity not their own. Written and peer reviewed by experts in the culture discussed, each chapter in this groundbreaking text covers a distinct region or culture and discusses the various contexts that contribute to nutrition and health: lifestyles, eating patterns, ethnic foods, menu planning, communication (verbal and non-verbal), and more. This book is consistent with The American Dietetic Association’s Cultural Competence Strategic Plan.

Poor nutrition, foodborne disease and lack of secure access to good food make an important contribution to the burden of disease and mortality in the WHO European Region. Better diets, food safety and food security will not only reduce or prevent suffering to individuals and societies but also help cut costs to health care systems and bring social and economic benefits to countries. People's chances for a healthy diet depend less on individual choices than on what food is available and whether it is affordable. Policies to benefit health through good food and nutrition must extend beyond the health sector to include sectors ranging from agriculture and food processing, manufacturing and trade to transport, retailing, catering and advertising. Food and nutrition policies should be coordinated so that public health is given due priority in the making of food policies by non-health sectors. This publication discusses in depth the components of food and nutrition policies and the evicence of supporting them. It higlights the urgent need for integrated, multisectoral food and nutrition policies to encourage the sustainable production of food, its safety and the provision of food of high nutritional quality for all. [Editor]

Among the thousands of naturally occurring constituents so far identified in plants and exhibiting a long history of safe use, there are none that pose - or reasonably might be expected to pose - a significant risk to human health at current low levels of intake when used as flavoring substances. Due to their natural origin, environmental and genetic factors will influence the chemical composition of the plant essential oils. Factors such as species and subspecies, geographical location, harvest time, plant part used and method of isolation all affect chemical composition of the crude material separated from the plant. The screening of plant extracts and natural products for antioxidative and antimicrobial activity has revealed the potential of higher plants as a source of new agents, to serve the processing of natural products.