Issues Concerning Healthy Living

Nutrition issues affect much of the world's population

Approximately 1 billion of the world's 7 billion people lack the food resources to ensure the minimum amount of energy required daily.
Furthermore, approximately 2 billion people are suffering from serious health problems resulting from micronutrient deficiencies, meaning a lack of vitamins and minerals.

In contrast, some 1.5 billion people in world are overweight, defined as a body mass index (BMI)⁵ of 25 and above; about 500 million of that category are obese, with a BMI of 30 or more. Being overweight raises the risk of lifestyle diseases, and being obese increases the possibility of developing life-threatening health complications such as stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. 3. OECD – FAO Agricultural Outlook 2010 – 2019, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and FAO
4. Fact Sheet No. 311, published by WHO
5. Body mass index (BMI) is an indicator of a person's level of body fat, calculated as body mass in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters. The normal score is 22.

The aging population is forecast to reach 1.5 billion in 2050

The proportion of elderly people aged 65 and older is expected to grow rapidly worldwide in developed countries and developing countries as a result of improved nutrition intake and advances in medicine. If the current rate of aging population growth continues unchanged, the numbers of those chronically ill and bedridden will increase considerably, requiring greater expenses and energy used for medical treatment and care giving. This will necessitate social systems reforms and changes in cultural norms, beginning with dietary habits, so that people can lead healthy, active, and independent lives well into their golden years. 6. World Population Prospects, the 2010 Revision, published by the United Nations