Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T05:21:01.133Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nutrition challenges for the twenty-first century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Alan D. Dangour  and
Ricardo Uauy
Alan D. Dangour*
Affiliation:
Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Ricardo Uauy
Affiliation:
Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK Public Health Nutrition Division, Instituto Nutrición y Tecnología de Alimentos, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
*
*Corresponding author: Alan D. Dangour, fax +44 207 958 8111, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Although progress has been made towards international goals for the eradication of hunger and malnutrition, considerable work is still required to achieve them and to respond to emerging public health nutrition challenges. The present paper outlines sixteen major inter-linked nutrition challenges recently identified by the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition. While many of the challenges relate to the nutritional needs of children and mothers, an increased emphasis on nutrition-related chronic diseases that affect later life is also evident. Promoting healthy ageing and the maintenance of physical and mental function in older age are undoubtedly major challenges for the future, and the present paper also informs on the role of nutrition, specifically n-3 essential fatty acids, in the prevention of cognitive decline. The importance of determining the cost-effectiveness of nutrition interventions is advocated, in order that the nutrition community can respond appropriately to global nutrition challenges.

Keywords

Healthy nutritionNutrition challengesMalnutritionAgeingCognition
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 96 , Issue S1 , August 2006 , pp. S2 - S7
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

References

Barberger-Gateau, P, Letenneur, L, Deschamps, V, Peres, K, Dartigues, JF & Renaud, S (2002) Fish, meat, and risk of dementia: cohort study. BMJ 325, 932–933.Google Scholar
Calon, F, Lim, GP & Yang, F (2004) Docosahexaenoic acid protects from dendritic pathology in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model. Neuron 43, 633–645.Google Scholar
Catalan, J, Moriguchi, T, Slotnick, B, Murthy, M, Greiner, RS & Salem, N Jr (2002) Cognitive deficits in docosahexaenoic acid-deficient rats. Behav Neurosci 116, 1022–1031.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dangour, AD, Sibson, VL & Fletcher, AE (2004) Micronutrient supplementation in later life: limited evidence for benefit. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 59, 659–673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Favrelere, S, Stadelmann-Ingrand, S, Huguet, F, De Javel, D, Piriou, A, Tallineau, C & Durand, G (2000) Age-related changes in ethanoalmine glycerophospholipid fatty acid levels in rat frontal cortex and hippocampus. Neurobiol Aging 21, 653–660.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization/World & Health Organization (1992) World Declaration and Plan of Action for Nutrition. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Goodwin, JS, Goodwin, JM & Garry, PJ (1983) Association between nutritional status and cognitive functioning in a healthy elderly population. JAMA 249, 2917–2921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graat, JM, Schouten, EG & Kok, FJ (2002) Effect of daily vitamin E and multivitamin–mineral supplementation on acute respiratory tract infections in elderly persons: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 288, 715–721.Google Scholar
Haller, J, Weggemans, RM, Ferry, M & Guigoz, Y (1996) Mental health: minimental state examination and geriatric depression score of elderly Europeans in the SENECA study of 1993. Eur J Clin Nutr 50, Suppl. 2. S112–S116.Google Scholar
Heude, B, Ducimetiere, P & Berr, C (2003) Cognitive decline and fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes – The EVA Study. Am J Clin Nutr 77, 803–808.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jama, JW, Launer, LJ, Witteman, JC, den Breeijen, JH, Breteler, MM, Grobbee, DE & Hofman, A (1996) Dietary antioxidants and cognitive function in a population-based sample of older persons. The Rotterdam Study. Am J Epidemiol 144, 275–280.Google Scholar
James, WPT, Simitasiri, S, Ul Haq, M, Tagwirery, J, Norum, K, Uauy, R & Swaminathan, MS (2000) Ending malnutrition by 2020 – an agenda for change in the millennium. WHO Food and Nutrition Bulletin 21 1S – 76SGoogle Scholar
Kalmijn, S, Feskens, EJ, Launer, LJ & Kromhout, D (1997) Polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and cognitive function in very old men. Am J Epidemiol 145   33–41.Google Scholar
Kalmijn, S, van Boxtel, MP, Ocke, M, Verschuren, WM, Kromhout, D & Launer, LJ (2004) Dietary intake of fatty acids and fish in relation to cognitive performance at middle age. Neurology 62, 275–280.Google Scholar
Kim, HY, Akbar, M, Lau, A & Edsall, L (2000) Inhibition of neuronal apoptosis by docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6 n -3). Role of phosphatidylserine in antiapoptotic effect. J Biol Chem 275, 35215–35223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawlor, DA, Davey Smith, G, Kundu, D, Bruckdorfer, KR & Ebrahim, S (2004) Those confounded vitamins: what can we learn from the differences between observational versus randomised trial evidence?. Lancet 363, 1724–1727.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lim, SY & Suzuki, H (2000) Intakes of dietary docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester and egg phosphatidylcholine improve maze-learning ability in young and old mice.   J Nutr 130, 1629–1632.Google Scholar
Malouf, M, Grimley, EJ & Areosa, SA (2003) Folic acid with or without vitamin B12 for cognition and dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, CD004514.Google Scholar
Malouf, R, Areosa Sastre, A (2003) Vitamin B 12 for cognition. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, CD004326.Google Scholar
Malouf, R & Grimley, EJ (2003) The effect of vitamin B6 on cognition. Cochrane Database Syst Rev CD004393.Google Scholar
Manders, M, de Groot, LC, van Staveren, WA, Wouters-Wesseling, W, Mulders, AJ, Schols, JM & Hoefnagels, WH (2004) Effectiveness of nutritional supplements on cognitive functioning in elderly persons: a systematic review. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 59, 1041–1049.Google Scholar
Marcheselli, VL, Hong, S & Lukiw, WJ (2003) Novel docosanoids inhibit brain ischemia-reperfusion-mediated leukocyte infiltration and pro-inflammatory gene expression. J Biol Chem 278, 43807–43817.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Melzer, D, Ely, M & Brayne, C (1997) Cognitive impairment in elderly people: population based estimate of the future in England, Scotland, and Wales. BMJ 315, 462Google Scholar
Miller, ER 3rd, Pastor-Barriuso, R, Dalal, D, Riemersma, RA, Appel, LJ & Guallar, E (2005) Meta-analysis: high-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality. Ann Intern Med 142, 37–46.Google Scholar
Morris, MC, Evans, DA, Bienias, JL, Tangney, CC, Bennett, DA, Wilson, RS, Aggarwal, N & Schneider, J (2003) Consumption of fish and n -3 fatty acids and risk of incident Alzheimer disease. Arch Neurol 60, 940–946.Google Scholar
Morris, MC, Evans, DA, Bienias, JL, Tangney, CC & Wilson, RS (2002) Vitamin E and cognitive decline in older persons. Arch Neurol 59, 1125–1132.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, PK, Marcheselli, VL, Serhan, CN & Bazan, NG (2004) Neuroprotectin D1: a docosahexaenoic acid-derived docosatriene protects human retinal pigment epithelial cells from oxidative stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101, 8491–8496.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Brien, JT, Erkinjuntti, T, Reisberg, B, Roman, G, Sawada, T, Pantoni, L, Bowler, JV, Ballard, C, DeCarli, C, Gorelick, PB, Rockwood, K, Burns, A, Gauthier, S & DeKosky, ST (2003) Vascular cognitive impairment. Lancet Neurol 2, 89–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perkins, AJ, Hendrie, HC, Callahan, CM, Gao, S, Unverzagt, FW, Xu, Y, Hall, KS & Hui, SL (1999) Association of antioxidants with memory in a multiethnic elderly sample using the third national health and nutrition examination survey. Am J Epidemiol 150, 37–44.Google Scholar
Perrig, WJ, Perrig, P & Stahelin, HB (1997) The relation between antioxidants and memory performance in the old and very old. J Am Geriatr Soc 45, 718–724.Google Scholar
Rodriguez-Martin, JL, Qizilbash, N, Lopez-Arrieta, JM (2001) Thiamine for Alzheimer's disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, CD001498.Google Scholar
Rojas, CV, Martinez, JI, Flores, I, Hoffman, DR & Uauy, R (2003) Gene expression analysis in human fetal retinal explants treated with docosahexaenoic acid. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 44, 3170–3177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Selhub, J, Bagley, LC, Miller, J & Rosenberg, IH (2000) B vitamins, homocysteine, and neurocognitive function in the elderly. Am J Clin Nutr 71 614S – 620SCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soderberg, M, Edlund, C, Kristensson, K & Dallner, G (1990) Lipid compositions of different regions of the human brain during aging. J Neurochem 54, 415–423.Google Scholar
Soderberg, M, Edlund, C, Kristensson, K & Dallner, G (1991) Fatty acid composition of brain phospholipids in aging and in Alzheimer's disease. Lipids 26, 421–425.Google Scholar
Suzuki, H, Hayakawa, S & Wada, S (1989) Effect of age on the modification of brain polyunsaturated fatty acids and enzyme activities by fish oil diet in rats. Mech Ageing Dev 50, 17–25.Google Scholar
Suzuki, H, Park, SJ, Tamura, M & Ando, S (1998) Effect of the long-term feeding of dietary lipids on the learning ability, fatty acid composition of brain stem phospholipids and synaptic membrane fluidity in adult mice: a comparison of sardine oil diet with palm oil diet. Mech Ageing Dev 101, 119–128.Google Scholar
Tabet, N, Birks, J, Grimley Evans, J (2000) Vitamin E for Alzheimer's disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, CD002854.Google Scholar
Uauy, R, Hoffman, DR, Peirano, P, Birch, DG & Birch, EE (2001) Essential fatty acids in visual and brain development. Lipids 36, 885–895.Google Scholar
Uauy, R & Valenzuela, A (2000) Marine oils: the health benefits of n -3 fatty acids. Nutrition 16, 680–684.Google Scholar
United Nations (2001) World Population Prospects, the 2000 Revision, Volume 1: Comprehensive Tables. New York: United NationsGoogle Scholar
Vermeer, SE, Prins, ND, den Heijer, T, Hofman, A, Koudstaal, PJ & Breteler, MM (2003) Silent brain infarcts and the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. N Engl J Med 348, 1215–1222.Google Scholar
Wald, DS, Law, M & Morris, JK (2002) Homocysteine and cardiovascular disease: evidence on causality from a meta-analysis. BMJ 325, 1202Google Scholar
World Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization (2002) Keep Fit for Life: Meeting the Nutritional Needs of Older Persons. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar