‘More than half of the world does not consume essential micronutrients’: Study

New Delhi: More than half of the world’s population does not consume enough calcium, iron, or vitamins C and E, according to a new study. The study, published in the Lancet journal, is the first to present estimates of the inadequate consumption of 15 micronutrients that are important for human health on a global scale.

One of the most prevalent types of malnutrition in the world is micronutrient deficiency, which has a range of negative effects on health, including blindness, poor pregnancy outcomes, and an increased risk of infectious infections.

The new study assesses whether these intakes match the needs suggested for human health and examines the deficiencies that specifically affect men and women throughout their lifespans.

Christopher Golden, Associate Professor of nutrition and planetary health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the US said that the enormous public health challenge the world faces can be addressed by practitioners and policymakers by identifying the most effective dietary interventions and directing them toward the most vulnerable populations.

The study is a big step forward, in addition to being the first to estimate the insufficient intake of micronutrients for 34 age-sex categories in almost every nation, it also makes these techniques and findings simply comprehensible for academics and practitioners, added Chris Free, research professor at the University of California-Santa Barbara.

The study, comparing nutritional requirements and intake among 185 countries found significant inadequacies in nearly all micronutrients, except for fortification.

Inadequate intake was particularly prevalent for iodine (68 per cent of the global population), vitamin E (67 per cent), calcium (66 per cent), and iron (65 per cent). Over half of people consumed inadequate riboflavin, folate, and vitamins C and B6.

Women had higher estimated inadequate intakes of iodine, vitamin B12, iron, and selenium. Men were found deficient in levels of calcium, niacin, thiamin, zinc, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, and B6, the study showed. (IANS)

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