Mixed
Global adult consumption of healthful foods (fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, seafood) is vastly insufficient, while consumption of less healthful foods (processed meats) is often excessive relative to optimal levels for chronic disease prevention.
Current global diets are significantly misaligned with optimal health guidelines. Most people do not consume enough fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, or seafood, while many consume too much processed meat. To optimize health, individuals should aim to increase intake of plant-based foods and seafood while limiting processed meats, as current global averages fall far short of recommended targets for preventing chronic diseases.
In 2010, global fruit intake was 81.3 g/day... in only 2 countries (representing 0.4% of the world’s population), mean intakes met recommended targets of ≥300 g/day... Mean national intakes met recommended targets in countries representing 0.4% of the global population for vegetables (≥400 g/day); 9.6% for nuts/seeds... 7.6% for whole grains... 4.4% for seafood... 20.3% for red meats (≤1 (100 g) serving/week); and 38.5% for processed meats (≤1 (50 g) serving/week).
Why this rating
Systematic analysis of 266 surveys across 113 countries using hierarchical Bayesian modeling.
Source
Global, regional and national consumption of major food groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis including 266 country-specific nutrition surveys worldwide
Renata Micha et al. · BMJ Open · 2015
DOI 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008705
More from this paper
- Global intakes of specific food groups vary widely by region and country, with some regions having very high intake of certain foods (e.g., vegetables in Sub-Saharan Africa) and very low intake of others (e.g., fruits).Strong
- Intakes of healthful foods generally increase with age, while intakes of less healthful foods generally decrease, suggesting age-related dietary improvements or cohort effects.Good
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