TY - JOUR
T1 - The prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies and inadequacies in the middle east and approaches to interventions
AU - Hwalla, Nahla
AU - Al Dhaheri, Ayesha Salem
AU - Radwan, Hadia
AU - Alfawaz, Hanan Abdullah
AU - Fouda, Mona A.
AU - Al-Daghri, Nasser Mohammed
AU - Zaghloul, Sahar
AU - Blumberg, Jeffrey B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This invited workshop, "Middle East Dietary Supplements-Expert Discussion", was sponsored by Pfizer Consumer Health in the Middle East. The meeting was held on 25-26 March 2016, in Dubai, UAE. We appreciate the medical writing support provided by Leris D’Costa, Aarati Rai, and Umar Katbeh of OPEN Health Dubai, UAE. We would also specially like to thank Sibelle El Labban from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, for support throughout the manuscript development process. Pfizer played no direct role in the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of data or in the preparation of this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2017/3/3
Y1 - 2017/3/3
N2 - Micronutrient deficiencies and inadequacies constitute a global health issue, particularly among countries in the Middle East. The objective of this review is to identify micronutrient deficits in the Middle East and to consider current and new approaches to address this problem. Based on the availability of more recent data, this review is primarily focused on countries that are in advanced nutrition transition. Prominent deficits in folate, iron, and vitamin D are noted among children/adolescents, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and the elderly. Reports indicate that food fortification in the region is sporadic and ineffective, and the use of dietary supplements is low. Nutrition monitoring in the region is limited, and gaps in relevant information present challenges for implementing new policies and approaches to address the problem. Government-sponsored initiatives are necessary to assess current dietary intakes/patterns, support nutrition education, and to reduce food insecurity, especially among vulnerable population groups. Public-private partnerships should be considered in targeting micronutrient fortification programs and supplementation recommendations as approaches to help alleviate the burden of micronutrient deficiencies and inadequacies in the Middle East.
AB - Micronutrient deficiencies and inadequacies constitute a global health issue, particularly among countries in the Middle East. The objective of this review is to identify micronutrient deficits in the Middle East and to consider current and new approaches to address this problem. Based on the availability of more recent data, this review is primarily focused on countries that are in advanced nutrition transition. Prominent deficits in folate, iron, and vitamin D are noted among children/adolescents, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and the elderly. Reports indicate that food fortification in the region is sporadic and ineffective, and the use of dietary supplements is low. Nutrition monitoring in the region is limited, and gaps in relevant information present challenges for implementing new policies and approaches to address the problem. Government-sponsored initiatives are necessary to assess current dietary intakes/patterns, support nutrition education, and to reduce food insecurity, especially among vulnerable population groups. Public-private partnerships should be considered in targeting micronutrient fortification programs and supplementation recommendations as approaches to help alleviate the burden of micronutrient deficiencies and inadequacies in the Middle East.
KW - Deficiency
KW - Dietary supplementation
KW - Food fortification
KW - Inadequacy
KW - Micronutrient
KW - Middle east
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U2 - 10.3390/nu9030229
DO - 10.3390/nu9030229
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28273802
AN - SCOPUS:85014530933
SN - 2072-6643
VL - 9
JO - Nutrients
JF - Nutrients
IS - 3
M1 - 229
ER -