Abstract
A well-balanced diet provides all of the energy humans need to keep active and healthy. Diets contain also the appropriate nutrients (vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, fats) that every person needs for metabolism, growth and repair. Keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet can also help people to maintain a healthy weight. Deficiencies in some key nutrients, such as vitamin A, B, C and E, and zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) selenium (Se) and magnesium (Mg) play an important role and can weaken parts of human immune system. Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients that the human body needs in small amounts to work properly. A balanced and healthy diet is enough for good health and dietary supplements are not needed. In the last decade, unhealthy diet and increased obesity became responsible for more deaths globally than tobacco smoking and high blood pressure. Suboptimal diet is an important preventable risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Obesity is now the 5th leading risk for global deaths. At least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. 44% of the diabetes burden, 23% of the ischaemic heart disease burden and between 7% and 41% of certain cancer burdens are attributable to overweight and obesity. Many years ago overweight and obesity was considered a high-income country problem. In the last decade, overweight and obesity are now on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings. Scientists and diet experts emphasized that the biggest “problem is not the junk food that people eat every day but the nutritious food people do not eat”. Researchers and dietary specialists are calling for a global shift in policy to promote healthy diets. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, which has been affiliated with the World Bank and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is now housed in the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME, University of Washington School of Medicine) works with collaborators around the world. In September 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed to update the definition of ‘Healthy’ Claim on food packages to help improve diet for the Americans. This proposed rule would align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Dietary data in the USA established that 80% of people are not eating enough vegetables, fruit and dairy. Most Americans consume too much added sugars, saturated fat and sodium (salty food). The proposed rule is part of the FDA’s ongoing commitment to helping consumers improve nutrition and dietary patterns to help reduce the burden of chronic disease and advance health equity. In a revision of the FDA’s original definition, the proposed rule would require products labeled with the word “healthy” (on the food packages) to contain a meaningful amount of ingredients from nutrient-dense food groups including fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, protein and oils.
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