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APJCN 1997; 6(2): 77
1997 - Volume 6, Number 2
Editorial
Public
health nutrition in the Asia Pacific region
Mark Wahlqvist BMedSc, MD(Adelaide), MD(Uppsala), FRACP, FAIFST, FACN,
FAFPHM
Professor and Head of Medicine, Monash
University, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne
Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr (1997) 6(2): 77
The key public health nutrition issues in the Asia
Pacific Region are:
- The combined problems of stunting and positive
energy balance in the one generation, and from one generation
to the next.
- Urbanization and its effects on physical
activity, food choice and nutrient partitioning.
- Changing demography with an ageing population.
- Loss of traditional fod culture with its
beliefs and skills.
- Remoteness from place of food production
with vulnerability to pricing because of transport, storage and
"value-addedness".
At the same time new opportunities present:
- Development at an early stage without the
"baggage" of outdated facilities.
- High regard for education with high levels
of achievement.
- Competitive advantage through long periods
of dominantly uni-directional information flow (European to Asian).
- Development of a new synthetic value system.
- Economic dynamism
- Food cultures intrinsically protective against
CNCD (chronic non-communicable disease)
- Supportive Networks.
Some examples of National and Novel public health
nutrition activities include:
Malaysia
- The 6 yearly cycle of Annual Health Promotion
campaigns, which from 1991-1996 were mainly disease or reproductive
age/early life specific (eg. heart disease, cancer, diabetes), but
from 1997 are more integrative eg. "Healthy Eating" in
1997.
- Town Planning for more spiritually conducive
and physically active environments (eg. safe precincts to exercise;
external and "open" stairways-firescapes for high risk
buildings).
- Retention of Village functionality within the
metropolis.
China-Tianjin
- Nutritional Epidemiology and Intervention on a
major scale
- New economic food marketing and pricing strategies
- Redefinition of health properties of traditional
foods and beverages, like fungi and Chinese tea.
Thailand
- Village development with industry partnership (TBIRD,
Thai Business in Rural Development, programme of Dr Mechai Viravaidya)
- Children - grandparent relationships as part of
studies in later life.
Although nutritionally-related health problems have
already emerged in the economically-transitional and urbanising Asia
Pacific region, there remain good prospects that those experienced
in older industrialized societies will be largely circumvented.
Copyright © 1997 [Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical
Nutrition]. All rights reserved.
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