Preventive nutrition: Its changing context in Meso America
Valdes Ramos, R.; Solomons, N.W.
Nutrition Research 22(1-2): 145-152
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0271-5317 DOI: 10.1016/s0271-5317(01)00356-6Document Number: 249904
The present article is an overview of the nutrition transition that is undergoing in MesoAmerica, where both sides of the malnutrition spectrum are present at very high rates. Although deaths due to the diseases of affluence are increasing at the same rate as in developed countries, undernutrition and its consequences (i.e. infectious diseases) are still taking a high toll among the youngest of the population. Preventive measures should include programs for promotion of sufficient nutrition while controlling for excesses leading to overnutrition. Nutrition recommendations should be able to promote both sides of the spectrum. The recommendation for an increased consumption of functional foods such as probiotics and prebiotics may become an appropriate measure as most studies indicate that they can be useful to decrease the incidence of infectious diseases while reducing some of the chronic ailments that affect the populations from developing countries.