A well-rounded diet is critical for the body’s overall growth, strengthening immunity, and supplying the nutrients required for optimum health; yet, many people do not obtain enough important vitamins and minerals from their food and beverages. More than half of the global population consumes inadequate levels of several micronutrients essential to health, including calcium, iron, and vitamins C and E, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). 

It is the first study to provide global estimates of inadequate consumption of 15 micronutrients critical to human health. The study was published in The Lancet Global Health on August 29.

“Our study is a big step forward,” said co-lead author Chris Free, research professor at UCSB. “Not only because it is the first to estimate inadequate micronutrient intakes for 34 age-sex groups in nearly every country, but also because it makes these methods and results easily accessible to researchers and practitioners.”

The researchers used data from the Global Dietary Database, the World Bank, and dietary recall surveys in 31 countries to compare nutritional requirements with nutritional intake among the populations of 185 countries. (They have made these data, as well as code for analysis, freely available.) They divided populations into males and females belonging to17 age groups: zero to 80 in five-year spans, as well as an 80+ group. The assessment studied fifteen vitamins and minerals: calcium, iodine, iron, riboflavin, folate, zinc, magnesium, selenium, thiamin, niacin, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and E.

The study found significant intake inadequacies for nearly all of the evaluated micronutrients, excluding fortification as a potential source of additional nutrients. Inadequate intake was especially prevalent for iodine (68% of the global population), vitamin E (67%), calcium (66%), and iron (65%). More than half of people consumed inadequate levels of riboflavin, folate, and vitamins C and B6. Intake of niacin was closest to sufficient, with 22% of the global population consuming inadequate levels, followed by thiamin (30%) and selenium (37%).

New Delhi:

People across all age groups in India, both men and women, are consuming inadequate amounts of micronutrients critical for health, including iron, calcium and folate, as estimated in a study published in The Lancet Global Health journal.

The study is the first to provide estimates of insufficient consumption of 15 micronutrients across 185 countries, taken through diets without the use of supplements, according to an international team, including researchers from Harvard University, US.

The findings suggested that around the world, almost 70 per cent, or over five billion, people do not consume enough iodine, vitamin E, and calcium.

The researchers also found that within a country and an age group, more women were consuming inadequate amounts of iodine, vitamin B12 and iron, compared to men, whereas more men were consuming inadequate amounts of magnesium, vitamin B6, zinc and vitamin C, compared to women.

In India, while more women consumed insufficient amounts of iodine, compared to men, more men consumed inadequate amounts of zinc and magnesium, compared to women, the team found.

While analyses over the past 10 years have looked at micronutrient deficiencies, the researchers said large data gaps remain for many micronutrients and population groups.

In this study, the authors used publicly available data from the Global Dietary Database to estimate the prevalence of insufficient nutrient intakes for 99.3 per cent of the global population.

Men and women aged 10-30 years were most prone to low-levels of calcium intake, especially in South Asia, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the team said.

The authors said that the findings could be used by public health professionals to target populations in need of dietary interventions.

They added that since they did not account for intake of fortified foods or supplements, the results could possibly be an overestimate for some key nutrients in particular locations where people consume high amounts of fortified foods and supplements. 

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