Asia
Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume 10, supplement
1, 2001
Proceedings
of the Joint WHO/FAO workshop held at the 8th Asian Congress of Nutrition,
Seoul, Korea
| Contents |
Abstract |
Paper
|
|
Achieving household nutrition security in societies in transition:
An overview
C GOPALAN
|
|
|
Nutrition in transition: The changing global nutrition
challenge
BARRY M POPKIN
|
|
|
Intrahousehold
food distribution: A case study of eight provinces in China
WEI LUO, FENGYING ZHAI, SHUIGAO JIN, KEYOU GE
|
|
|
Temporary stability of urban food and nutrition security: The
East Jakarta study
ERIKA WASITO, PRITASARI, DWI SUSILOWATI, DWI NASTITI ISWARAWANTI,
WERNER SCHULTINK, RAINER GROSS
|
|
|
| Promoting
household food and nutrition security in Myanmar AYE
THWIN
|
|
|
Nutrition
trends in Japan
YASUHIRO MATSUMURA |
|
|
Nutrition
transition in the Republic of Korea
SOOWON KIM, SOOJAE MOON, BARRY M POPKIN
|
|
|
Food and nutrition security and the economic crisis in Indonesia
SOEKIRMAN
|
|
|
top
Achieving
household nutrition security in societies in transition: An overview
C GOPALAN
The achievement of nutrition security at the household
level involves adequacy of food supply at the national level and equitable
distribution of food among the population in accordance with their
physiological needs. The emergence of globalization and market liberalization
and the increasing power of some transnational corporations that are
advocating pharmaceutical shortcuts have raised concerns in many developing
countries. In order to achieve adequacy of food production, earlier
mistakes (such as a reliance on unsustainable new technologies) need
to be corrected and the resultant imbalances with respect to food
production need to be reversed. Emerging new technologies, including
genetic modifications, need to be effectively harnessed and adapted
with due consideration to safety and sustainability. There is a need
to collect convincing evidence of the efficacy and safety of genetically
modified foods before they can gain general public acceptance. Information
technology will play an important role in future programmes of food
production and developing countries must strive to achieve access
to this technology. There is considerable scope and need for the expansion
of agro-based industries in villages and townships. This could create
job opportunities and could also lead to better production and more
effective utilization of local food resources by the community and
reduce the present considerable loss of perishable food items. Household
nutrition security means more than avoidance of chronic starvation.
Policy makers of developing countries should set, as their target
in the next century, the achievement of adequate nutrition rather
than mere survival.
top
Nutrition
in transition: The changing global nutrition challenge
BARRY M POPKIN
The rapid shift in the stage of nutrition towards a pattern of degenerative
disease is accelerating in the developing world. Data from China,
as shown by the China Health and Nutrition Survey, between 1989 and
1993, are illustrative of these shifts. For example, an increase from
22.8 to 66.6% in the proportion of adults consuming a higher-fat diet,
rapid shifts in the structure of diet as income changes, and important
price relationships are examples that are presented. There appears
to reflect a basic shift in eating preferences, induced mainly by
shifts in income, prices and food availability, but also by the modern
food industry and the mass media. Furthermore, the remarkable shift
in the occupations structure in lower-income countries from agricultural
labour towards employment in manufacturing and services implies a
reduction in energy expenditure. One consequence of the nutrition
transition has been a decline in undernutrition accompanied by a rapid
increase in obesity. There are marked differences between urban and
rural eating patterns, particularly regarding the consumption of food
prepared away from home. Other issues considered are the fetal origins
hypothesis, whereby the metabolic efficiencies that served well in
conditions of fetal undernutrition become maladaptive with overnutrition,
leading to the development of abnormal lipid profiles, altered glucose
and insulin metabolism and obesity. Furthermore, obesity and activity
are closely linked with adult-onset diabetes. The shift towards a
diet higher in fat and meat and lower in carbohydrates and fibre,
together with the shift towards less onerous physical activity, carries
unwanted nutritional and health effects. It is also clear that the
causes of obesity must be viewed as environmental rather than personal
or genetic.
.
top
Intrahousehold
food distribution: A case study of eight provinces in China
WEI LUO, FENGYING ZHAI, SHUIGAO JIN, KEYOU GE
A longitudinal survey of health and nutrition in China was undertaken
in eight provinces (Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan,
Guangxi, Guizhou). Data were collected in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1997.
The 1991 and 1993 data were used to investigate factors affecting
intrahousehold food distribution. The discrepancy score and the ratio
of food share to energy share were used to describe food distribution
within households. Findings indicated that, in most cases, males had
a higher proportion of nutrient intake than females, particularly
in the young adult group where men presented with a higher discrepancy
score than women for energy and all nutrients observed. The food and
nutrient distribution tends to be more favourable to the middle-aged
group, although the youngest group, while accepting relatively smaller
amounts of cereals, ate much bigger amounts of meat, dairy products
and fruits. Household members with higher incomes are more favoured
in terms of food consumption and nutrient intake. Household leaders
accepted a higher share of energy and nutrients in comparison with
other members of the household across all age and sex groups. Administrators
and people working in service or trade industries in rural areas are
favoured in terms of food distribution relative to farmers and manual
workers. Well-educated people accepted a better food allocation than
others and those in employment received more nutrients than the unemployed.
The 'contribution rule' (individuals who make a greater contribution
to the family receive a larger share of the family's food) is discussed
and deemed to be applicable in explaining the discrepancy in food
distribution and nutrient intake among household members..
top
Temporary
stability of urban food and nutrition security: The East Jakarta study
ERIKA WASITO, PRITASARI, DWI SUSILOWATI, DWI NASTITI ISWARAWANTI,
WERNER SCHULTINK, RAINER GROSS
The food and nutrition
situation in households of East Jakarta was assessed in 1993/1994
and 1998/1999 with the aim of identifying the determinants of potential
problems and the dynamics of change. In 1993/1994, the nutritional
status of approximately 73% of children under 5 years of age and 60%
of mothers was within the normal range, although underweight and overweight
were prevalent in almost all households. Between 1998 and 1999, there
was a sharp increase in fathers reporting unemployment. The consumption
of animal food sources decreased, whereas the consumption of food
derivatives such as oils and sugar remained high. Approximately 90%
of the population obtained drinking water from wells. By 1998, the
public garbage collection system had almost completely collapsed in
East Jakarta. Between 1993 and 1998, the prevalence of diarrhoea and
acute respiratory infections in children aged under 5 years increased
dramatically, from 8 and 44% to 24 and 70%, respectively. The urban
environment has undergone significant changes. In Indonesia, as a
whole, many achievements in the improvement of household food security
and care have been lost due to the economic and political crisis.
The statistical association between mothers' and fathers' education
and the nutritional status of their children that was observed in
1993/94 did not appear in the 1998 survey. It seems that the education-related
coping mechanisms of the parents were inadequate to deal with the
rapid deterioration in the economic and political situation.
top
Promoting
household food and nutrition security in Myanmar
AYE THWIN
Myanmar has a policy of promoting food and nutrition security and,
at the national level, food production is more than that required
to meet the country's needs. Nevertheless, food and nutrition surveillance
has revealed that malnutrition still exists in the country, despite
economic growth and national food self-sufficiency. The National Plan
of Action for Food and Nutrition, formulated in 1994 and adopted in
1995, accorded priority to household food and nutrition security.
Accordingly, in 1996, in partnership with the World Health Organization
(WHO), the National Nutrition Centre embarked on a study of household
food and nutrition security in Myanmar. A preliminary situation analysis
revealed that transitional changes in the economic, demographic and
social sectors have driven dramatic changes in people's lifestyles,
behaviour and practices and that these changes affect food and nutrition
security. The present paper explores household and intrahousehold
determinants of nutrition problems in Myanmar.
top
Nutrition
trends in Japan
YASUHIRO MATSUMURA
The
National Nutrition Survey (NNS) in Japan has been undertaken annually
since 1946. It was originally intended to provide information on the
food and nutrient intake of the Japanese people, with a view to acquiring
emergency food supplies from other countries when food shortages caused
malnutrition in many Japanese. The food balance sheet (FBS) has been
drawn up since 1949 to show the food supply available to the Japanese
people. The trends and figures shown by both approaches were similar
until the mid-1970s. Since then, however, the disparity between the
food supply and the intake of foods and nutrients has been getting
larger. National food security means that a country has enough food
for everyone. This does not mean, however, that every family has enough
food, because the food may not be evenly distributed. In fact, marginal
deficiencies in iron and calcium are thought to still exist and there
is considerable variation among households in energy intake. In Japan,
nutrition and diet are now considered to play important roles in the
emerging problems of obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension etc.,
because of excessive energy intake and deficiency or excessive intake
of certain nutrients.
top
Nutrition
transition in the Republic of Korea
SOOWON KIM, SOOJAE MOON, BARRY M POPKIN
Accelerating epidemiological transition and concurrent shifts in diet,
activity and body composition are universal trends, especially in
middle- and lower-income countries. A unique nutrition transition
has occurred in the Republic of Korea, a country that modernized earlier
than most Asian countries. This analysis attempts to describe the
nutrition transition in the Republic of Korea, focusing on specific
features that other countries may follow to retain the healthy elements
of their traditional diets. The analysis uses secondary data on economics,
dietary intake, anthropometry and causes of death, including a series
of comparable nationally representative dietary surveys (the National
Nutrition Survey). The structure of the economy of the Republic of
Korea, along with dietary and disease patterns, began an accelerated
shift in the 1970s. Major dietary change included a large increase
in the consumption of animal food products and a fall in total cereal
intake. Uniquely, the amount and the rate of increase in fat intake
have remained very low. The Republic of Korea also has a relatively
low prevalence of obesity compared with other Asian countries with
similar or much lower incomes. The nutrition transition in the Republic
of Korea is unique. National efforts to retain elements of the traditional
diet are thought to have shaped this unique transition in the Republic
of Korea in the midst of rapid economic growth and introduction of
western culture.
top
Food
and nutrition security and the economic crisis in Indonesia
SOEKIRMAN
Indonesia
has been afflicted by an economic crisis since July 1997. The economic
crisis was preceded by a long drought associated with El Nino. The
result has been a decline in food production, especially rice. In
the eastern part of the country, especially in Irian Jaya, there was
food insecurity during the early stages of the economic crisis. When
the crisis escalated to become an economic, social and political crisis
in 1998, food insecurity spread to other provinces, especially to
urban areas in Java. The crisis led to increasingly high inflation,
unemployment, poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. The official
figures indicate that poverty in Indonesia increased from 22.5 million
(11.3%) in 1996 to 36.5 million (17.9%) in 1998. Food production decreased
by 20-30% in some parts of the country. Compared with prices in January
1998, food prices had escalated 1.5- to threefold by August/ November
1998 when acute food shortages occurred, especially in urban Java.
Coupled with a drop in purchasing power, the higher food prices worsened
health, nutritional status and education of children of urban poor
and unemployed families. Despite social and political uncertainties,
the Indonesian Government has taken prompt action to prevent a worsening
of the situation by massive imports of rice, instituting food price
subsidies for the poor and launching social safety net programmes
to cope with food shortages and malnutrition. The present paper attempts
to highlight the impact of the economic crisis on food insecurity
and malnutrition in Indonesia.
top
Last
Updated: September 2004
HEC
PRESS Publisher
of the 
