Proper diet and new lifestyles: recommendations for health (and savings) in the new BarillaCFN position paper

BENESSERE, FOOD, GREEN 09 settembre 2009

Proper diet and new lifestyles: recommendations for health (and savings) in the new BarillaCFN position paper

The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition has focused its new position paper on the connection between daily diet and health, based on the findings of a host of recent scientific studies, and formulates a number of concrete proposals for action and further study.

This is the Center’s third paper since initiating activities this year, following those on water management and on the relations between climate change and agricultural food sector. The document was recently presented during the International Forum at Villa d’Este in Cernobbio by Guido Barilla, Camillo Ricordi, Gabriele Riccardi e Umberto Veronesi.

THE WORLD DIETARY SCENARIO: PREVENTION, DIET, LIFESTYLE

A product of studies by and discussions among the authoritative members of the Center’s Advisory Board, the paper responds, on the one hand, to the growing importance of prevention in international health policies, and, on the other, to the increasing awareness of the impact of lifestyle, and dietary habits in particular, on individual health and wellbeing.
The worldwide situation is worrisome due to the rate of such disorders as obesity in industrialized countries (and most notably, the United States, where 65% of the population is considered to be overweight), increases in the rate of pathologies such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and growth in the number of people with diabetes, also in developing countries: it is estimated, for example, that in 2025 there will be nearly 60 million diabetics in China (+50% over 2007) and an alarming 69.8 million in India.
The position paper illustrates the main health risks listed in the international medical literature (at the top of the list: tobacco smoke, improper diet, physical inactivity) and the role of diet in the onset of certain pathologies. A comparison among countries having different dietary models (e.g., the Mediterranean, North American, or Japanese diets) highlights the associations between different rates of pathology and diet, and evidences the benefits of those more closely aligned with medical guidelines for prevention and health. Numerous scientific studies, for example, have demonstrated a positive correlation between the daily consumption of fruit and vegetables and a reduction in the risk of cancer.

AN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION

The impact of these pathologies on national economies must also be careful assessed. The cost of cardiovascular disease and stroke alone for the year 2009 in the United States is estimated at 475.3 billion dollars. Similarly, direct healthcare costs associated with cancer in Europe in 2004 totaled some 56.6 billion euros. The health of people and the environment is a theme that affects all levels of contemporary society. In this regard, prevention (vaccination campaigns, screening programs, public awareness policies) plays an absolutely positive role: it has been calculated, for example, that an increase of 1% in the ratio of preventive spending to public healthcare spending correlates to a 3% decrease in spending on treatments and rehabilitation.

THE CENTER’S RECOMMENDATIONS: A NATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK

The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition has identified four priority areas for action on diet and health to be adopted by world leaders:

1) Effectively promote healthy dietary habits based upon the most authoritative scientific studies.

2) Expand scientific knowledge.

3) Adopt social and public health policies that encourage healthy dietary habits.

4) Improve communication in order to promote the adoption of lifestyles and dietary habits that are in line with available scientific knowledge.

Regarding the second point, the position paper is clear on the possibility to significantly improve our understanding of the dynamics of diet and health, and proposes that Italy, given the importance of the food industry in its national economy, should launch a major national project to bring together scientific research, technological development and economic growth in the field of nutrition and health, with the active participation of the top universities and other Italian institutes of excellence.