Nutritional status and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa: Predictions for 2020

The subject of the future regarding nutritional status and food security, a nd of their ramifications in terms of nutrition-related disorders/diseases in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) populations, is a complex one. As well as soci al unrest, a country's socioeconomic situation may affect food availability and, crucially, influence the generally low proportions of the Gross Natio nal Product devoted to health services. Additional determinants include cha nges in the roles of non-dietary adverse factors (i.e, smoking practice, al cohol consumption, physical inactivity) and of infections (i.e. gastroenter itis, malaria, tuberculosis and, particularly, HN). As to future health in 2020, major increases in socioeconomic status are very unlikely; in fact, t here has been a deterioration in some countries with food shortages affecti ng nutrition status and food security. However, with some measures of prosp erity there are likely to be decreases in family size and falls in the prop ortions of children born with low birthweights or with protein-energy-malnu trition (PEM), and of children lying under the 5th percentile of growth ref erence standards. Simultaneously, though. there will be variable rises, esp ecially in urban dwellers, in the occurrence of hypertension, diabetes, car diovascular disease and certain cancers, improvements in the health status of both children and adults are likely to be strongly affected by whether H N infection can be controlled or whether it becomes rampant.