Effectiveness of Dietary Policies to Reduce Noncommunicable Diseases.

In nearly every region, suboptimal diet is the leading risk factor for poor health; hunger and malnutrition result in substantial burdens and contribute to the incidence and prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (Forouzanfar and others 2015; Lim and others 2012). Improving individual and population dietary habits needs to become a health system and public health priority (IFPRI 2015). In recent years, interventions have been evaluated to improve dietary habits, including individual-level interventions in the health system (for example, nutrition counseling); population-level interventions; and novel, technology-based interventions (for example, Internet- and mobile-based programs). A detailed discussion of these interventions is beyond the scope of this chapter. Here, we focus on dietary priorities and policies for global NCDs, including key dietary targets, current distributions of consumption, and ensuing health burdens. We summarize the evidence for effective population-level interventions to improve diet quality, and we discuss data gaps and needs for assessing cost-effectiveness. (...)