Challenges loom as researchers look to improve diets globally

Experts estimate that one in five deaths worldwide are linked to unhealthy diets, and data from the United Nations show that people across the world are both hungrier and heavier than they were five years ago.

While there has been a shift from focusing on nutrition rather than hunger, there are many challenges to improving unhealthy diets and increasing access to nutritious foods, according to an April 29, 2019 Reuters article.

Sam Myers, principal research scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, noted that one challenge is that rising levels of carbon dioxide associated with climate change are reducing levels of iron, zinc, and protein levels in staple crops.

Moreover, Myers added that an ideal diet for the health of the planet and its people is heavy on fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes, most of which depend on pollinating insects, which are increasingly imperiled by climate change.

“I want to shine a spotlight on the need to start embracing more pollinator-friendly practices,” Myers said.

Read the Reuters article: Death by diet: the race to transform the world’s bad food habits