Publication:
Food Policy Options : Preventing and Controlling Nutrition Related Non-Communicable Diseases

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (501.08 KB)
610 downloads
English Text (225.14 KB)
156 downloads
Date
2002-11
ISSN
Published
2002-11
Editor(s)
Abstract
Although diet structure and activity throughout the developing world have shifted drastically over the past several decades, little is known about effective policies to influence the supply and demand for food to control the undesirable effects, such as obesity, heart disease and cancer, of those shifts. Two questions specifically need to be addressed: a) Are the traditional policy levers for crops and livestock still important and feasible options, considering the latest developments in processing, distribution and marketing? b) What research should be done in the process of formulating an 'Action Agenda' over the longer term. The answer to question one, concerns 'Traditional' versus 'New Policy Levers', and includes: i) recognition of the limitations of conventional food policies; ii) demanding truth in advertising; iii) harnessing the influence of supermarkets and multinational corporations; iv) choosing realistic options to shift demand; v) addressing internal infrastructure; vi) using schools for targeted intervention. Currently, few studies allow linkage of prices, diet, and health outcomes in any systematic manner that considers the timing of the changes.
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Health Organization; World Bank. 2002. Food Policy Options : Preventing and Controlling Nutrition Related Non-Communicable Diseases. HNP discussion paper series;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13801 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Dietary Patterns and Non-communicable Diseases in Selected Latin American Countries
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-03) Bonilla-Chacín, María Eugenia; Marcano Vázquez, Luis T.; Sierra, Ricardo; Aldana, Úrsula
    To raise awareness among policymakers and health practitioners about unhealthy diets, this document examines dietary patterns in selected Latin American countries using household surveys. The analysis shows that a large percentage of households in the countries examined have inadequate diets. Not only are calorie intakes higher than recommended to maintain a healthy weight, but the diets are also rich in fats, particularly saturated fats, sugars and sodium, and poor in fruits and vegetables. These unhealthy diets are present in both rural and urban areas and in households at different income levels. These dietary patterns are likely to increase the risks for developing non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and diabetes mellitus. These diseases are increasingly representing the main causes of death and disability in Latin America, and thus there is an urgent need to increase efforts to promote healthy diets. There are cost-effective interventions that have proven to improve diets, particularly to reduce sodium and trans fat intake, and there are promising examples in the region of the implementation of some of these cost-effective interventions. In addition, given the harmful effects of these dietary patterns, it is important to monitor the prevalence of unhealthy diets across different population groups as well as the intermediate risks factors linked to these diets, such as overweight and obesity, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose in the blood. This will require better information than what is currently available and information that is comparable across time.
  • Publication
    The Double Burden of Malnutrition
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-11) Shrimpton, Roger; Rokx, Claudia
    The Double Burden of Malnutrition (DBM) is the coexistence of both under nutrition and over nutrition in the same population across the life course. 'Across the life course' refers to the phenomenon that under nutrition early in life contributes to an increased propensity for over nutrition in adulthood. The DBM affects all countries, rich and poor, and is a particular concern in countries with high stunting rates. The consequences of the DBM are enormous; early life under nutrition is an underlying cause associated with about a third of young child deaths. Among the survivors who become stunted during the first two years of life, their capacity to resist disease, to carry out physical work, to study and progress in school, are all impaired across the life course. Later in the life course, diet and nutrition, and especially obesity, are important underlying causes of many Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and ischemic heart disease. The causes of the DBM are related to a series of changes occurring in the world called the nutrition transition, the demographic transition, and the epidemiological transition of countries. The variables associated with the nutrition transition and obesity epidemic can be grouped into four cross-cutting themes, which include: (i) the health/biological environment; (ii) the economic/food environment; (iii) the physical/built environment; and (iv) the socio/cultural environment. The solutions for the DBM problems are reasonably well recognized in each of its parts: under nutrition and over nutrition. However, the solutions have not been combined into an overarching policy and program framework, which together with raising awareness about the serious future implications for the low-and middle income countries is the aim of this paper.
  • Publication
    The Role of Agriculture in a Modernizing Society
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05) Christiaensen, Luc
    China's success in addressing food problems after adopting the reforms in 1978 has been nothing less than remarkable. Grain output (rice, wheat and maize) has almost doubled and most hunger has been eliminated. Ever since China embarked on its reform agenda more than 30 years ago, its economic growth and poverty reduction have been nothing less than remarkable. Agriculture has been an important contributor to these developments. Since 1978, China has almost doubled its cereal production (rice, wheat and maize) and it is now feeding 1.3 billion people, or 20 percent of the world's population, while having less than 11 percent of the world s agricultural land and less than 6 percent of its water. New challenges are presenting themselves for China's agriculture, and old ones are resurfacing. High (land saving) Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth and increasingly open domestic and international markets, combined with grain self-sufficiency targets, a multitude of very small, fragmented production structures, and distorted land and labor markets have defined Chinese agriculture over the past three decades. The relative importance of agriculture s three problems in policymaking thus evolves during the course of development away from the food to the farm and field problems. This shift has however recently been compounded by a resurgence of the food problem, as global supplies struggle to keep up with demand. China's agriculture anno 2030 will be predominantly a modern commercial smallholder agriculture that ensures self-sufficiency in cereal food (rice and wheat), but not in cereal feed (maize and soybeans). The sector will maximize rural employment opportunities in labor intensive high value agricultural products and act as a diligent custodian of its precious natural resources.
  • Publication
    Paraguay Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06) Arce, Carlos; Arias, Diego
    This report is the result of a World Bank mission that visited Paraguay in June 2013 at the request of the Government of Paraguay. The mission’s objective was to identify, quantify, and prioritize agriculture risks that determine the volatility of agriculture gross domestic product (GDP), based on a methodology to assess sector risks developed by the World Bank. The methodology stipulates a two-phase process. The first phase (risk evaluation), which is in volume one of this report, was reviewed by the government and evaluates the current situation and perspective of agriculture sector risks, starting from the standpoint of supply chains. From here, and based on the identification of the most important risks, given their frequency and severity, a list of possible solutions was produced in addition to the existing public and private programs and policies. This process is completed with a second phase, where an action plan was prepared (volume two) that can be executed in the medium term to reduce sector risks and to contribute to the sustainability of agriculture investments. The significant efforts undertaken by the government to maintain support programs in critical production and trade areas of the sector are recognized, as well as the institutional development to strengthen the response capacity to agriculture risks. Chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two presents information about the agriculture sector and its recent performance is included, allowing to determine the most important supply chains for this risk assessment and to place the relative economic and social importance of the various commodities and production methods in the appropriate context. In chapter three, a comprehensive assessment of production, market, and enabling environment risks is undertaken for the main commercial and family farming supply chains, in addition to livestock. Chapter four shows the repercussions that risks have had in the past, in particular aggregated losses incurred by supply chain actors. Chapter five assesses the impacts of these losses throughout the supply chains and explores the relative vulnerability of the different actors. Chapter six presents the results and ranking of risks, a list of possible solutions jointly with different public initiatives where some identified risks are addressed.
  • Publication
    Minding the Stock : Bringing Public Policy to Bear on Livestock Sector Development
    (World Bank, 2009-01-01) World Bank
    Driven by population growth, urbanization, and increased income, the demand for animal-source food products in developing countries is rapidly increasing. Livestock, which already constitutes 30 percent of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the developing world, and about 40 percent of the global agricultural GDP, is one of the fastest-growing subsectors in agriculture. Growing demand presents real opportunities for economic growth and poverty reduction in rural areas. It could directly benefit the one billion poor people who depend on livestock as a source of income and subsistence. Livestock also provides traction for about 50 percent of the world's farmers and is a source of organic fertilizer for most of the world's croplands, converting waste products into inputs in the production of high-value food. For these reasons, the sector has a critical role to play in making agriculture sustainable, in reducing poverty, and in contributing to economic growth. This report presents an analysis of the issues related to market failures in the livestock sector, and an examination of policy and investment options that can be used to overcome them. Its principal intended audience includes policy makers and development practitioners. Much of the analysis will focus on identifying the needs of the public sector as it sets out to redress the imbalance between public and private investment and to begin establishing an enabling environment in which private sector livestock development can take place in a way that is consistent with public health, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability. While the report focuses on developing countries, much of its treatment pertains to industrialized countries as well, particularly with respect to issues of crosscutting global significance, such as greenhouse gas emissions and emerging highly infectious diseases.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Strengthening Competitiveness In Bangladesh—Thematic Assessment
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2016-07-15) Kathuria, Sanjay; Malouche, Mariem Mezghenni; Kathuria, Sanjay; Malouche, Mariem Mezghenni
    This is volume 2 of a three-volume publication on Bangladesh’s trade prospects. Bangladesh’s ambition is to build on its very solid growth and poverty reduction achievements, and accelerate growth to become a middle income country by 2021, and share prosperity more widely amongst its citizens. This includes one of its greatest development challenges: to provide gainful employment to the over 2 million people that will join the labor force each year over the next decade. Moreover, only 54.1 million of its 94 million working age people are employed. Bangladesh needs to use its labor endowment even more intensively to increase growth and, in turn, to absorb the incoming labor. The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study identifies the following actions centered around four pillars to sustain and accelerate export growth: (1) breaking into new markets through a) better trade logistics to reduce delivery lags ; as world markets become more competitive and newer products demand shorter lead times, to generate new sources of competitiveness and thereby enable market diversification; and b) better exploitation of regional trading opportunities in nearby growing and dynamic markets, especially East and South Asia; (2) breaking into new products through a) more neutral and rational trade policy and taxation and bonded warehouse schemes; b) concerted efforts to spur domestic investment and attract foreign direct investment, to contribute to export promotion and diversification, including by easing the energy and land constraints; and c) strategic development and promotion of services trade; (3) improving worker and consumer welfare by a) improving skills and literacy; b) implementing labor and work safety guidelines; and c) making safety nets more effective in dealing with trade shocks; and (4) building a supportive environment, including a) sustaining sound macroeconomic fundamentals; and b) strengthening the institutional capacity for strategic policy making aimed at the objective of international competitiveness to help bring focus and coherence to the government’s reform efforts. This second volume provides in-depth analysis across seven cross-cutting themes that underpin most of the findings of pillars 1 and 2 above.
  • Publication
    Timor-Leste Economic Report, July 2023
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-08-25) World Bank
    Timor-Leste’s economy continued its recovery in 2022, expanding by 3.9 percent, fueled by public consumption and investment. Private investment rose from an exceptionally low level while net exports continued to be a drag on growth. Headline inflation soared in March 2023 at 9.6 percent, spurred by significant increases in food and non-food prices. High inflation is part of a global trend driven by prices of tradable goods. Within Timor-Leste, the government’s policy of enforcing higher excise taxes on tobacco products, implementing import taxes, and applying excises to sugar and sugary beverages, partially drove the inflationary trend. To advance a reform agenda, the new government may want to consider institutionalizing fiscal consolidation through robust fiscal rules. Both revenue mobilization and expenditure rationalization efforts should not only be maintained but also enhanced. Given that significant increases in public spending have had a limited impact on Timor-Leste’s medium-term economic growth, it is possible to sustain growth levels with a reduced budget.
  • Publication
    Taking Stock, March 2025: Electrifying Journeys
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-12) World Bank
    Viet Nam’s real GDP growth reached 7.1 percent in 2024, driven by a strong rebound in exports, outpacing most regional peers. External demand strongly rebounded in 2024 after a contraction in 2023. Final consumption and investment growth also accelerated in 2024 reaching 6.6 and 7.2 percent, respectively, supporting the growth momentum. However, private consumption remained a moderate driver of aggregate demand relative to the region (54 percent of GDP compared to a median of 61.7 percent, respectively) as household savings increased amid heightened uncertainty in recent years. Viet Nam’s GDP growth is forecast to moderate to 6.8 percent in 2025 before settling at 6.5 percent in 2026. The rebound in exports in 2024 is expected to ease in 2025 and further into 2026 due to projected economic slowdown in China and the United States in the near-team - Viet Nam’s largest trade partners – and uncertain global trade prospects from shifts in trade policy. Domestic activities and services are expected to continue to firm up in 2025 and into 2026 as the real estate market recovery gathers steam. The outlook for Viet Nam remains positive but with heightened uncertainties. Given Viet Nam’s openness to the global economy, the main uncertainty stems from slower-than-expected global growth and trade disruptions, particularly among major trading partners such as the United States, European Union, and China. Such developments, including heightened uncertainties from trade policy shifts and deepening trade fragmentation, could impact Viet Nam’s manufacturing exports, industrial production, and growth. On the other hand, increased public investment could further support demand and contribute to growth. An accelerated recovery in the real estate market thanks to faster project clearance could further boost domestic demand. The special focus of this edition focuses on preparing e-mobility transition in the transport sector. This analysis examines the critical steps required to decarbonize road transportation in Vietnam by using electric vehicles and rolling out a network of public charging stations. It explores the implications of this transition on electricity demand, greenhouse gas emissions, and job creation. The report presents a set of recommendations to achieve the Government’s ambitious target of having 50 percent of urban vehicles and 100 percent of urban buses and taxis powered by electricity or green energy by 2030, and subsequently reaching 100 percent for all road vehicles by 2050.
  • Publication
    Vietnam
    (World Bank, Hanoi, 2020-05-01) World Bank
    Following from Vietnam’s ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in late 2018 and its effectiveness from January 2019, and the European Parliament’s recent approval of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its subsequent planned ratification by the National Assembly in May 2020, Vietnam has further demonstrated its determination to be a modern, competitive, open economy. As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis has clearly shown, diversified markets and supply chains will be key in the future global context to managing the risk of disruptions in trade and in supply chains due to changing trade relationships, climate change, natural disasters, and disease outbreaks. In those regards, Vietnam is in a stronger position than most countries in the region. The benefits of globalization are increasingly being debated and questioned. However, in the case of Vietnam, the benefits have been clear in terms of high and consistent economic growth and a large reduction in poverty levels. As Vietnam moves to ratify and implement a new generation of free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the CPTPP and EVFTA, it is important to clearly demonstrate, in a transparent manner, the economic gains and distributional impacts (such as sectoral and poverty) from joining these FTAs. In the meantime, it is crucial to highlight the legal gaps that must be addressed to ensure that national laws and regulations are in compliance with Vietnam’s obligations under these FTAs. Readiness to implement this new generation of FTAs at both the national and subnational level is important to ensure that the country maximizes the full economic benefits in terms of trade and investment. This report explores the issues of globalization and the integration of Vietnam into the global economy, particularly through implementation of the EVFTA.
  • Publication
    Firm-Level Technology Adoption in Vietnam
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-03) Comin, Diego; Cirera, Xavier; Lee, Kyung Min; Cruz, Marcio; Soares Martins-Neto, Antonio
    This paper describes the results of a new firm survey to measure technology use and adoption implemented prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. It analyzes the use and adoption of technology among Vietnamese firms and identifies some of the key barriers to adoption and diffusion. The analysis offers new and important stylized facts on firm-level use of technologies. First, although access to the internet is almost universal in Vietnam, firms had low digital readiness to face the COVID-19 pandemic; and the share of establishments with their own website, social media, and cloud computing is still small. Second, the use of Industry 4.0 technologies is incipient. Third, the technology gap with the use of frontier technologies in some general business functions, such as quality control, production planning, sales, and sourcing and procurement, is large. Fourth, the manufacturing sector faces the largest technological gap, larger than services and agricultural firms. The analysis of the main barriers and drivers to technology adoption and use shows the importance of good management quality for technology adoption, and that there is a technology premium associated with exporting activities. Finally, the analysis also shows that firms are largely unaware of the available public policy support for technology upgrading.