Advancing nutrition

The International Conference on Nutrition (ICN) was held in 1992. The 150 countries that participated in ICN committed themselves to developing plans with attainable goals and measurable targets in nutrition advancement. As a follow-up, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has helped more than 40 countries prepare national plans of action for nutrition.

The South Pacific Commission (SPC) advances nutrition in some 22 island nations. In 1993, for instance, SPC provided assistance to Western Samoa in finalizing the national food and nutrition policy for improving nutritional health in the whole country.

1. Foods should be your medicine and medicine should be your food (Hippocrates).

1. Strengthening comprehensive health care
2. Promoting health
3. Ensuring a healthy environment

1. Upgrading basic nutrition practices
2. Teaching good food habits
3. Reviewing food processing industry
4. Regulating food standards
5. Reducing incidence of malnutrition
6. Promoting healthy foods
7. Determining indigenous food balance
8. Classifying dangerous food preparation
9. Arranging comprehensive food variety
10. Advancing food production and processing
11. Advancing food culture industry

1. Supplying basic nutritional needs
2. Reducing meat consumption to conserve grain
3. Improving human health
4. Implementing health, nutrition, education and poverty alleviation programmes for children
5. Eating natural foods

1. Upgrading local food production
2. Studying nutrition-based illness
3. Strengthening national food control
4. Securing food supplies
5. Researching food safety
6. Reducing cost of nutritious food
7. Providing dietary supplements
8. Promoting products
9. Promoting cooperation in food processing industry
10. Labelling health food products
11. Inspecting food industry
12. Farming organically
13. Distributing information about food
14. Correcting vitamin deficiencies in diet
15. Conducting surveys on the health and nutrition of women

1. Vitamin deficiencies in diet
2. Vitamin D deficiency
3. Vitamin B deficiencies
4. Unhealthy diet
5. Underweight
6. Obesity
7. Nutritional deficiencies
8. Misinformed nutrition practices
9. Malnutrition
10. Insufficient consumption of vegetables and fruit
11. Inappropriate infant feeding strategies
12. Inadequate nutrition education
13. Inadequate dietary fibre
14. Excessive dieting
15. Excessive consumption of vitamins
16. Excessive consumption of fats
17. Deficiency diseases
18. Child malnutrition

1. Unhealthiness
2. Malnutrition
3. Health

1. WPHNA World Public Health Nutrition Association
2. FAO: Nutrition
3. Global Nutrition Report
4. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World
5. Global Governance for Nutrition and the role of UNSCN
6. UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL NUTRITION AGENDA
7. Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
8. International Food Policy Research Institute: Global Nutrition Report
9. Nutrition International
10. Bread for the World Institute
11. Food and Nutrition Information Centre