THE NUTRITION TRANSITION - NEW TRENDS IN THE GLOBAL DIET

Analyses of economic and food availability data for 1962-1994 reveal a major shift in the structure of the global diet marked by an uncoupli ng of the classic relationship between incomes and fat intakes. Global availability of cheap vegetable oils and fats has resulted in greatly increased fat consumption among low-income nations. Consequently, the nutrition transition now occurs at lower levels of the gross national product than previously, and is accelerated further by high urbanizat ion rates. Data from Asian nations, where diet structure is rapidly ch anging, suggest that diets higher in fats and sweeteners are also more diverse and more varied. Given that preferences for palatable diets a re a universal human trait, fat consumption may be governed not by phy siological mechanisms but by the amount of fat available in the food s upply Whereas economic development has led to improved food security a nd better health, adverse health effects of the nutrition transition i nclude growing rates of childhood obesity. The implications of these t rends are explored.