Healthier Lives Through Food

Improving product choice and supply for a balanced diet for people and planet

To incentivise the production of healthy foods, food production, processing and retail industries must grasp that responsibility. This also comprises responsible marketing and advertisement.

Diversifying protein choices for food products

In relation to increased protein diversification, there is recognition that processed meat is a risk factor for several NCDs. This needs greater public awareness and separate dietary guidelines from red meat.

Optimising the nutrient density of food

There is evidence that industrial trans-fat intake is higher in Baltic and Eastern European countries (which results in a higher prevalence of cardio-vascular diseases. Other factors need to be combined with dietary change for most impact.

Cardiovascular disease in other European countries is still the major cause of death, morbidity and a number of other outcomes. Improving knowledge of food/nutrition across life course will be vital for public uptake.

To reduce childhood obesity the importance of diet and exercise should be taught together. Related to this is the importance of exercise at all ages, which not only reduces NCD risk but can also enhance mental health.

Alzheimer’s disease/dementia is now a major cause of mortality and morbidity especially in women. There is good evidence that those with the ApoE4 genotype (E4/E4 especially) have a substantially increased risk which may interact with diet.

NCDs with dietary causal links

• Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and stroke: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the largest cause of death (34%), 71% of which is IHD plus stroke.
  • Countries with the highest prevalence rates in Europe: Estonia, Serbia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania

• Colorectal Cancer: Cancers are the second largest cause of death (31%) with colorectal cancer 13% of the total (6th overall).
  • Countries with the highest prevalence rates in Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary

• Alzheimer’s Disease: Neurological disorders are the third largest cause of death (6.7%) of which ~90% is Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Countries with the highest prevalence rates in Europe: Slovenia, Croatia, Czechia
• Type 2 Diabetes: Type 2 Diabetes has apparently relatively low mortality rate but there is concern that CVD is a cause of death registration.
  • Countries with the highest prevalence rates in Europe: Czechia, UK, Germany

There are substantial variations in incidences and impacts of diet-related NCDs between countries. Mid and Eastern EU countries, particularly Bulgaria, have the highest CVD and colorectal cancer mortality rates.

There are higher mortality rates in women from Alzheimer’s but more understanding on link with diet required. There is also an identified need to increase awareness and education in primary and secondary education.

The recommendations resulting from these three priority areas focus on diet-related changes in food consumption for more healthy life years by means of four key enablers which:

• advance regulation and policy frameworks to support faster development and uptake of new products and technologies

• allow consumers to better understand and learn to prevent NCDs by way of their diets
• provide knowledge and data to gain new and/or better and more timely insights on food production and consumption patterns as well as health impact
• establish new collaborations and partnerships within and beyond the food system.

Three key domains to concentrate efforts on are:

• increasing input of more healthy ingredients and products into the food system

• developing technologies to safeguard nutrient density/content
• prioritising “Healthier Lives through Food” within the supply chain.