Health and Nutrition Policy-Part 1

Instructor: David H. Holben.

On this Tuesday, we had lecture on health and Nutrition policy (Chapter6) in class. Dr. Holben introduced what is nutrition policy, relationships among Nutrition Research, Monitoring, and Policy making, and NNMPPR. Many offices are dedicated to national nutrition policy, such as Healthy People 2010, CDC, USDA, FDA, and so forth.

The U.S. Congress passed legislation (PL101-445) that established the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program (NNMRRP) in 1990. NNMRRP is the set of activities that provides regular information about the contribution that diet and nutritional status make to the health of the U.S. population and about the factors affecting diet and nutritional status. The activities of NNMRRP are jointly coordinated by USDA and the DHHS. Today, the NNMRRP includes more than 50 surveillance activities that monitor and evaluate the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population.

The goals of NNMRRP includes: 1. provide the scientific foundation for the maintenance and improvement of the nutritional status of the U.S. population and the nutritional quality and healthfulness of the national food supply; 2. collect, analyze, and disseminate timely data on the nutritional and dietary status of the U.S. population, the nutritional quality of the food supply, food consumption patterns, and consumer knowledge and attitudes concerning nutrition; 3. indentify high-risk groups and geographical areas, as well as nutrition-related problems and trends, to facilitate prompt implementation of nutrition intervention activities; 4. establish national baseline data and develop and improve uniform standards, methods, criteria, policies, and procedures for nutrition monitoring; 5. provide data for evaluating the implications of changes in agricultural policy related to food production, processing, and distribution that may affect the nutritional quality and healthfulness of the U.S. food supply.

As is described above, NNMRRP plays a very significant role in coordinating the relationships between nutritional and dietary status of the U.S. population and scientific research. Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of population may reflect the possible causations for food insecurity. And suggestions from nutritionists based on the nutritional status of population could help solve the problem. Another example is between nutrient intake and supplement use. Nutritionists collect data about nutrient intake and nutritional status of population by using surveys of the program. After analized the data, suggestions about special nutrient supplement will come up. For instance, if people in a certain community appear to have more osteoporosis than usual, calcium supplement should be fortified.