At the 2013 Nutrition for Growth Summit in London, 96 signatories (governments, civil society organizations, donors, United Nations’ agencies, and businesses) agreed to support the creation of an annual report on global nutrition that would be authored by an independent expert group, in partnership with a large number of contributors. The first edition of this report, the Global Nutrition Report 2014, puts a spotlight on worldwide progress by the 193 member countries of the United Nations in improving their nutrition status, identifies bottlenecks to change, highlights opportunities for action, and contributes to strengthened nutrition accountability on country and global levels.

During the past decade, tremendous growth has occurred in the use of nutrition symbols and rating systems designed to summarize key nutritional aspects and characteristics of food products. These symbols and the systems that underlie them have become known as front-of-package (FOP) nutrition rating systems and symbols, even though the symbols themselves can be found anywhere on the front of a food package or on a retail shelf tag. Though not regulated and inconsistent in format, content, and criteria, FOP systems and symbols have the potential to provide useful guidance to consumers as well as maximize effectiveness. As a result, Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to undertake a study with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine and provide recommendations regarding FOP nutrition rating systems and symbols. The study was completed in two phases. Phase I focused primarily on the nutrition criteria underlying FOP systems. Phase II builds on the results of Phase I while focusing on aspects related to consumer understanding and behavior related to the development of a standardized FOP system. Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols focuses on Phase II of the study. The report addresses the potential benefits of a single, standardized front-label food guidance system regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, assesses which icons are most effective with consumer audiences, and considers the systems/icons that best promote health and how to maximize their use.

Updates for many countries have made it possible to estimate hunger in the world with greater accuracy this year. In particular, newly accessible data enabled the revision of the entire series of undernourishment estimates for China back to 2000, resulting in a substantial downward shift of the series of the number of undernourished in the world. Nevertheless, the revision confirms the trend reported in past editions: the number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. The report also shows that the burden of malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a challenge. There has been some progress for child stunting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding, but at a pace that is still too slow. Childhood overweight is not improving and adult obesity is on the rise in all regions. The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socio economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report puts a spotlight on diet quality as a critical link between food security and nutrition. Meeting SDG 2 targets will only be possible if people have enough food to eat and if what they are eating is nutritious and affordable. The report also introduces new analysis of the cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world, by region and in different development contexts. It presents valuations of the health and climate-change costs associated with current food consumption patterns, as well as the potential cost savings if food consumption patterns were to shift towards healthy diets that include sustainability considerations. The report then concludes with a discussion of the policies and strategies to transform food systems to ensure affordable healthy diets, as part of the required efforts to end both hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

Few challenges facing the global community today match the scale of malnutrition, a condition that directly affects 1 in 3 people. Malnutrition manifests itself in many different ways: as poor child growth and development; as individuals who are skin and bone or prone to infection; as those who are carrying too much weight or whose blood contains too much sugar, salt, fat, or cholesterol; or those who are deficient in important vitamins or minerals. Malnutrition and diet are by far the biggest risk factors for the global burden of disease: every country is facing a serious public health challenge from malnutrition. The economic consequences represent losses of 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) every year in Africa and Asia, whereas preventing malnutrion delivers $16 in returns on investment for every $1 spent. The world’s countries have agreed on targets for nutrition, but despite some progress in recent years the world is off track to reach those targets. This third stocktaking of the state of the world’s nutrition points to ways to reverse this trend and end all forms of malnutrition by 2030.

Learn more about how health nutrition experts can help you make the correct food choices for a healthy lifestyle The eighth edition of the Dietary Guidelines is designed for professionals to help all individuals, ages 2 years-old and above, and their families to consume a healthy, nutritionally adequate diet. The 2015-2020 edition provides five overarching Guidelines that encourage: healthy eating patterns recognize that individuals will need to make shifts in their food and beverage choices to achieve a healthy pattern acknowledge that all segments of our society have a role to play in supporting healthy choices provides a healthy framework in which individuals can enjoy foods that meet their personal, cultural and traditional preferences within their food budget This guidance can help you choose a healthy diet and focus on preventing the diet-related chronic diseases that continue to impact American populations. It is also intended to help you to improve and maintain overall health for disease prevention. **NOTE: This printed edition contains a minor typographical error within the Appendix. The Errata Sheet describing the errors can be found by clicking here. This same errata sheet can be used for the digital formats of this product available for free. Health professionals, including physicians, nutritionists, dietary counselors, nurses, hospitality meal planners, health policymakers, and beneficiaries of the USDA National School Lunch and School Breakfast program and their administrators may find these guidelines most useful. American consumers can also use this information to help make helathy food choices for themselves and their families.

This volume is the newest release in the authoritative series issued by the National Academy of Sciences on dietary reference intakes (DRIs). This series provides recommended intakes, such as Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), for use in planning nutritionally adequate diets for individuals based on age and gender. In addition, a new reference intake, the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL), has also been established to assist an individual in knowing how much is "too much" of a nutrient. Based on the Institute of Medicine's review of the scientific literature regarding dietary micronutrients, recommendations have been formulated regarding vitamins A and K, iron, iodine, chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, and other potentially beneficial trace elements such as boron to determine the roles, if any, they play in health. The book also: Reviews selected components of food that may influence the bioavailability of these compounds. Develops estimates of dietary intake of these compounds that are compatible with good nutrition throughout the life span and that may decrease risk of chronic disease where data indicate they play a role. Determines Tolerable Upper Intake levels for each nutrient reviewed where adequate scientific data are available in specific population subgroups. Identifies research needed to improve knowledge of the role of these micronutrients in human health. This book will be important to professionals in nutrition research and education.