Time to involve dietitian nutritionists in controlling food insecurity, says expert

Islamabad
With Pakistan’s growing population posing a serious threat to food security, it is the business of every individual in the society to play their role in ensuring that all people have consistent access to an appropriately nutritious diet, and that they are able to make food choices consistent with short and long-term good health.
Dr. Rezzan Khan, consultant nutritionist and head of the Clinical Nutrition Department at Shifa International Hospital, made this observation while talking to this scribe here on Tuesday.
Dr. Rezzan, who is also the country representative of Pakistan for American Overseas Dietetic Association, believes dietitian nutritionists (DN) can educate people on food and nutrition knowledge such as on food preparation skills, cultural traditions, knowledge and standards, health status and hygiene.
“They can also teach people how changes in their eating and purchasing practices can reduce consumption of the world’s nonrenewable resources. The DN can and should be involved with the complete spectrum of addressing and managing nutrition insecurity and malnutrition. Even within medical settings, dietitians (who are nutrition experts) can provide continuing education seminars to other nutrition and medical professionals,” Dr. Rezzan stated, emphasising the need to involve DNs in alleviating food insecurity.
Throughout the world, DNs make valuable contributions toward improving food insecurity through education, practice, research, advocacy, and public policy, especially through community-based involvement. “They encounter malnourished individuals through a variety of community settings, including health departments, clinics, schools and school-based health centres, nutrition education programmes, food and nutrition assistance programmes, food banks, grocery stores and other food retail or foodservice venues to address issues affecting food security and nutrition,” Dr. Rezzan shared. They also promote awareness of global nutrition security issues, and participate in national and international professional meetings that have a strong agenda addressing global nutrition security. Furthermore, DNs volunteer in local, national, or international humanitarian assistance efforts and medical.
Dr. Rezzan pointed out that food insecurity causes serious complications and inadequate intake of key nutrients causes poor physical and mental health in adults and depression in women; overweight and weight gain (especially among women from marginal and low food security households); adverse health outcomes for infants and toddlers; behaviour problems in preschool-aged children; lower educational achievement in school age children; and depressive disorder and suicidal symptoms in adolescents.
“Under-nutrition affects individuals with both chronic and acute illness; starvation (i.e., anorexia nervosa); and is especially damaging to those more vulnerable to food insecurity such as the elderly, socially isolated, or those with low income. This bleak scenario is compounded by the prevalence of poor food preparation methods that lead to nutrient loss. Lack of dietary diversification also aggravates the problem,” the dietician remarked.
Most of these problems are due to lack of access to adequate food. However, this does not always have to be the case as up to half of the food produced today is lost, wasted, or discarded as a result of inefficiency. In developing nations, food waste most commonly occurs post-harvest because of poor storage and transport infrastructure. Only an estimated 43% of the cereal produced is available for human consumption, as a result of harvest and post-harvest distribution losses and use of cereal for animal feed.
Food insecurity is defined as reduced food intake or disrupted eating patterns in a household due to lack of money or other resources. Food insecurity creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition.
According to recent national estimates, 58 per cent of the country’s total population is facing food insecurity, and in these households, almost 50 per cent of women and children were malnourished. The survey shows that stunting (short height for age), wasting (low weight for height) and micronutrient deficiencies are widespread in Pakistan.