scholarly journals Ghanaians Might Be at Risk of Excess Dietary Intake of Potassium Based on Food Supply Data

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Oscar Yawson ◽  
Michael Osei Adu ◽  
Benjamin Ason ◽  
Frederick Ato Armah ◽  
Emmanuel Boateng ◽  
...  

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the beneficial role of adequate intake of potassium (K) in combating the global burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mainly hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Diets are the main source of K supply to humans and can contribute to both K deficiency (hypokalemia) and excess (hyperkalemia). While global attention is currently devoted to K deficiency, K excess can be even more dangerous and deserves equal attention. The objectives of this paper were to (i) estimate the K intake of Ghanaian population using food supply and food composition data and (ii) compare this estimate with the WHO-recommended requirement for K in order to assess if there is a risk of inadequate or excess K intake. Food supply data (1961–2011) were obtained from the Food Balance Sheet (FBS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to derive trends in food and K supply. The average food supply in the FBS for 2010 and 2011 was used in assessing the risk of inadequate or excess dietary intake of K. The K content of the food items was obtained from food composition databases. Based on 2010-2011 average data, the K supply per capita per day was approximately 9,086 mg, about 2.6-fold larger than the WHO-recommended level (3,510 mg). The assessment suggests a potentially large risk of excess dietary K supply at both individual and population levels. The results suggest the need for assessing options for managing K excess as part of food security and public health strategies. The results further underscore a need for assessment of the K status of staple food crops and mixed diets, as well as K management in food crop production systems in Ghana.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Oscar Yawson ◽  
Michael Osei Adu ◽  
Benjamin Ason ◽  
Frederick Ato Armah ◽  
Emmanuel Boateng ◽  
...  

Adequate dietary intake of potassium (K) helps fight noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mainly hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. This paper (i) estimated the K intake of Ghanaian population using food supply and food composition data and (ii) compared this estimate with the WHO recommended requirement for K in order to assess if there is a risk of inadequate K intake. Food supply data (1961–2011) was obtained from the FAO Food Balance Sheet (FBS) to derive trends in food and K supply. The average food supply in the FBS for 2010 and 2011 was used in assessing the risk of inadequate dietary intake of K. The K contents of the food items were obtained from food composition databases. The mean K supply per capita per day was approximately 856 mg. The assessment suggests a potentially large risk of inadequate dietary K supply at both individual and population levels. The results suggest the need for assessing options for managing K deficiency, including assessment of K supplying power of soils and K fertilizer management in food crop production systems, as well as empirical estimates of K content of food items (including those underreported in the FBS) and mixed diets in Ghana.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097275312199850
Author(s):  
Vivek Podder ◽  
Raghuram Nagarathna ◽  
Akshay Anand ◽  
Patil S. Suchitra ◽  
Amit Kumar Singh ◽  
...  

Rationale: India has a high prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which can be lowered by regular physical activity. To understand this association, recent population data is required which is representative of all the states and union territories of the country. Objective: We aimed to investigate the patterns of physical activity in India, stratified by zones, body mass index (BMI), urban, rural areas, and gender. Method: We present the analysis of physical activity status from the data collected during the phase 1 of a pan-India study. This ( Niyantrita Madhumeha Bharata 2017) was a multicenter pan-India cluster sampled trial with dual objectives. A survey to identify all individuals at a high risk for diabetes, using a validated instrument called the Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS), was followed by a two-armed randomized yoga-based lifestyle intervention for the primary prevention of diabetes. The physical activity was scored as per IDRS (vigorous exercise or strenuous at work = 0, moderate exercise at home/work = 10, mild exercise at home/work = 20, no exercise = 30). This was done in a selected cluster using a mobile application. A weighted prevalence was calculated based on the nonresponse rate and design weight. Results: We analyzed the data from 2,33,805 individuals; the mean age was 41.4 years (SD 13.4). Of these, 50.6% were females and 49.4% were males; 45.8% were from rural areas and 54% from urban areas. The BMI was 24.7 ± 4.6 kg/m 2 . Briefly, 20% were physically inactive and 57% of the people were either inactive or mildly active. 21.2% of females were found physically inactive, whereas 19.2% of males were inactive. Individuals living in urban localities were proportionately more inactive (21.7% vs. 18.8%) or mildly active (38.9% vs. 34.8%) than the rural people. Individuals from the central (29.6%) and south zones (28.6%) of the country were also relatively inactive, in contrast to those from the northwest zone (14.2%). The known diabetics were found to be physically inactive (28.3% vs. 19.8%) when compared with those unaware of their diabetic status. Conclusion: 20% and 37% of the population in India are not active or mildly active, respectively, and thus 57% of the surveyed population do not meet the physical activity regimen recommended by the World Health Organization. This puts a large Indian population at risk of developing various NCDs, which are being increasingly reported to be vulnerable to COVID-19 infections. India needs to adopt the four strategic objectives recommended by the World Health Organization for reducing the prevalence of physical inactivity.


Author(s):  
Rabin Hamal ◽  
◽  
Rahul Pathak ◽  
Brindeswari Kafle Bhandari ◽  
Anurag Jha ◽  
...  

The World Health Organization officially declared infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2), leading to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and then as a pandemic on March 11, 2020 with reports of infection from most of the countries of the world [1]. COVID-19 has severely disrupted prevention and treatment for noncommunicable diseases. Severe illness can occur in otherwise healthy individuals of any age, but it predominantly occurs in adults with advanced age or certain underlying medical comorbidities [2]. Since the beginning of the health emergency, particular attention has been paid to the management of patients with chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs) because they frequently are treated with immunosuppressive drugs and therefore potentially are exposed to a greater infectious risk than the general population [3].


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1581
Author(s):  
Rodney R. Dietert

The is a sequential article to an initial review suggesting that Microbiome First medical approaches to human health and wellness could both aid the fight against noncommunicable diseases and conditions (NCDs) and help to usher in sustainable healthcare. This current review article specifically focuses on public health programs and initiatives and what has been termed by medical journals as a catastrophic record of recent failures. Included in the review is a discussion of the four priority behavioral modifications (food choices, cessation of two drugs of abuse, and exercise) advocated by the World Health Organization as the way to stop the ongoing NCD epidemic. The lack of public health focus on the majority of cells and genes in the human superorganism, the microbiome, is highlighted as is the “regulatory gap” failure to protect humans, particularly the young, from a series of mass population toxic exposures (e.g., asbestos, trichloroethylene, dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls, triclosan, bisphenol A and other plasticizers, polyfluorinated compounds, herbicides, food emulsifiers, high fructose corn syrup, certain nanoparticles, endocrine disruptors, and obesogens). The combination of early life toxicity for the microbiome and connected human physiological systems (e.g., immune, neurological), plus a lack of attention to the importance of microbial rebiosis has facilitated rather than suppressed, the NCD epidemic. This review article concludes with a call to place the microbiome first and foremost in public health initiatives as a way to both rescue public health effectiveness and reduce the human suffering connected to comorbid NCDs.


Author(s):  
Charlotte Probst ◽  
Jakob Manthey ◽  
Maria Neufeld ◽  
Jürgen Rehm ◽  
João Breda ◽  
...  

Background: The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases set the target of an “at least 10% relative reduction in the harmful use of alcohol, as appropriate, within the national context”. This study investigated progress in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region towards this target based on two indicators: (a) alcohol per capita consumption (APC) and (b) the age-standardized prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (HED). Methods: Alcohol exposure data for the years 2010–2017 were based on country-validated data and statistical models. Results: Between 2010 and 2017, the reduction target for APC has been met with a decline by −12.4% (95% confidence interval (CI) −17.2, −7.0%) in the region. This progress differed greatly across the region with no decline for the EU-28 grouping (−2.4%; 95% CI −12.0, 7.8%) but large declines for the Eastern WHO EUR grouping (−26.2%; 95% CI −42.2, −8.1%). Little to no progress was made concerning HED, with an overall change of −1.7% (−13.7% to 10.2%) in the WHO European Region. Conclusions: The findings indicate a divergence in alcohol consumption reduction in Europe, with substantial progress in the Eastern part of the region and very modest or no progress in EU countries.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.I Khamidov

Since January 2020, the world faced one of the largest outbreaks of human history that coronavirus (Covid-19) began spreading among countries across the globe. Plenty of research institutes developed insights and estimations regarding the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on agriculture and food security system. The UN estimations indicate that more than 132 million people around the world may have hunger due to the economic recession as a result of the pandemic. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is pushing forward the strategies in order for increasing food supply in developing countries and providing assistance to food producers and suppliers. World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that the pandemic may not finish by the end of 2020 and countries should be prepared for longer effects within 2021. In this regard, ensuring food security as well as sufficient food supply would be one of the crucial aspects of policy functions in developing countries.


2021 ◽  
pp. 2434-2443
Author(s):  
Md. Hakimul Haque ◽  
Md. Aminul Islam ◽  
Md. Rezaul Karim ◽  
Mohammad Enamul Hoque Kayesh ◽  
Subir Sarker ◽  
...  

The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020. COVID-19, the current global health emergency, is wreaking havoc on human health systems and, to a lesser degree, on animals globally. The outbreak has continued since the first report of COVID-19 in China in December 2019, and the second and third waves of the outbreak have already begun in several countries. COVID-19 is expected to have adverse effects on crop production, food security, integrated pest control, tourism, the car industry, and other sectors of the global economy. COVID-19 induces a range of effects in livestock that is reflected economically since human health and livelihood are intertwined with animal health. We summarize the potentially harmful effects of COVID-19 on livestock and possible mitigation steps in response to this global outbreak. Mitigation of the negative effects of COVID-19 and future pandemics on livestock requires the implementation of current guidelines.


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