Majority of global population has inadequate access to vital micronutrients: Study

There is an immense inadequacy of micronutrient intake across the world—especially for iodine, vitamin E, calcium, iron, riboflavin and folate, stated a new study published in Lancet Global Health on August 29.  

The study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) estimated the global prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intakes for 15 essential micronutrients across 34 sub-national age–sex groups in 185 countries. 

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals needed by the body in very small amounts. However, their impact on a person’s health is significant and deficiency in any of them can cause severe and even life-threatening conditions.

The study found that globally more than five billion people do not consume enough iodine, vitamin E and calcium. More than four billion people do not consume enough of each of another four nutrients —  iron, riboflavin, folate and vitamin C. 

Gender gap shows up

Also, the study showed clear patterns for the levels of estimated inadequacy for specific nutrients on the basis of gender. 

Globally women had a higher prevalence of inadequate intake than men when it comes to micronutrients like iodine, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, calcium, riboflavin and folate. 

Men have higher inadequacies than women for magnesium, vitamin B6, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin A, thiamin and niacin. 

Many of the differences observed could relate to a combination of differing dietary patterns, dietary requirements and consumption quantities between sexes, the study noted. 

Calcium intake inadequacy is reported to be highest in countries in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and east Asia and the Pacific. Also, Intake inadequacy was high across all age–sex groups in these countries, but highest among people aged 10–30 years. 

Disparity at heart of malnutrition

Countries in North America, Europe and central Asia had a consistently low prevalence of inadequate calcium intake.

Low prevalence of inadequate iodine intake was observed only in Europe and Canada and for vitamin E, mainly in Pacific Island countries. For riboflavin and vitamin B12, high prevalences of inadequate intakes were common only in countries in south Asia and Africa.

A few countries had estimated intake inadequacies that diverged from the general patterns.

For instance, in India, estimated inadequate intakes of riboflavin, folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 were especially high. Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo had highly inadequate niacin intakes. While Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan had high inadequate selenium intakes.

Ty Beal, senior technical specialist, GAIN termed the results as ‘alarming’. 

Pioneering study on malnutrition

The analysis provides the first global estimates of inadequate micronutrient intakes using dietary intake data and highlights the highly prevalent gaps across nutrients and variability by sex.

Understanding these micronutrient intake inadequacies can help to better identify where nutritional interventions are needed, such as dietary interventions, biofortification, fortification and supplementation.

Christopher D Golden, Harvard Chan School and one of the study's authors noted that the public health challenge with reference to micronutrient deficiencies is immense but the study gives the practitioners and policymakers the opportunity to identify the most effective dietary interventions.