Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-5b777bbd6c-cp4x8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-19T02:02:21.993Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 2 - Food and Nutrition

from Section 1 - Health and Disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2025

By
Helen Nabwera ,
Modou Jobe  and
Andrew M. Prentice
Edited by
David Mabey ,
Martin W. Weber ,
Moffat Nyirenda ,
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu ,
Jackson Orem ,
Laura Benjamin ,
Michael Marks  and
Nicholas A. Feasey
David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem
Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey
Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Get access

Summary

Nutrition is amongst the most powerful of the environmental factors influencing health and disease. As Africa passes through the demographic transitions of increasing wealth and urbanisation, the patterns of diet-related diseases are changing. Stunting and underweight among children remain unacceptably widespread, but in adults non-communicable diseases associated with excess weight are becoming common and are overtaking infectious diseases as the leading causes of death. The need for physicians to focus on their patients’ nutrition is therefore crucial.

Type
Chapter
Information
Principles of Medicine in Africa , pp. 19 - 43
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Further reading

Food and Agriculture Organization: www.fao.org.

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition: www.gainhealth.org.

HarvestPlus: www.harvestplus.org

International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders: www.iccidd.org.

International Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements Project (iLiNS): www.ilins.org.

International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group: www.izincg.org.

Micronutrient Forum: www.micronutrientforum.org.

Micronutrient Initiative: www.www.nutritionintl.org.

World Health Organization (nutrition pages): www.who.int/topics/nutrition/en/.

World Health Organization guidance on complementary feeding:

www.who.int/health-topics/complementary-feeding#tab=tab_1.

www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guiding_principles_compfeeding_breastfed.pdf

Barker, DJP (1998). Mothers, Babies and Health in Later Life. London: Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Bhutta, ZA, Ahmed, T, Black, RE et al. (2008). What works? Interventions for maternal and child undernutrition and survival. Lancet; 371: 417–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
EAT Lancet Commission on the Anthropocene Diet. https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/EATGoogle Scholar
FAO summary of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines. https://www.fao.org/nutrition/nutrition-education/food-dietary-guidelines/en/Google Scholar
Flynn, PM et al; PROMISE Study Team. (2018). Prevention of HIV-1 transmission through breastfeeding: efficacy and safety of maternal antiretroviral therapy versus infant nevirapine prophylaxis for duration of breastfeeding in HIV-1-infected women with high CD4 cell count (IMPAACT PROMISE): a randomized, open-label, clinical trial. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr.; 77: 383–92.10.1097/QAI.0000000000001612CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Imdad, A, Mayo-Wilson, E, Herzer, K, Bhutta, ZA. (2017). Vitamin A supplementation for preventing morbidity and mortality in children from six months to five years of age. Cochrane Database Syst Rev.; 3: CD008524.Google ScholarPubMed
Islam, MM, Khatun, M, Peerson, JM et al. (2008). Effects of energy density and feeding frequency of complementary foods on total daily energy intakes and consumption of breast milk by healthy breastfed Bangladeshi children. Am J Clin Nutr; 88: 84–94.10.1093/ajcn/88.1.84CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keats, EC, Das, JK, Salam, RA, Lassi, ZS, Imdad, A, Black, RE, Bhutta, ZA. (2021). Effective interventions to address maternal and child malnutrition: an update of the evidence. Lancet Child Adolesc Health; 5: 367–84.Google ScholarPubMed
Pettifor, JM (2004). Nutritional rickets: deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, or both? Am J Clin Nutr; 80(6 Suppl): 1725S–9S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prentice, A (2008). Vitamin D deficiency: a global perspective. Nutr Rev; 66(10 Suppl 2): S153–64.Google ScholarPubMed
Sommer, A. (2008). Vitamin A deficiency and clinical disease: an historical overview. J Nutr; 138: 1835–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, CL, Black, RE (2010). Zinc for the treatment of diarrhoea: effect on diarrhoea morbidity, mortality and incidence of future episodes. Int J Epidemiol; 39 Suppl 1: 163–9.10.1093/ije/dyq023CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO (1999). Thiamine deficiency and its prevention and control in major emergencies. Geneva: World Health Organization. www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-NHD-99.13.Google Scholar
WHO (1999). Scurvy and its prevention and control in major emergencies. Geneva: World Health Organization. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1999/WHO_NHD_99.11.pdf).Google Scholar
WHO (2000). Pellagra and its prevention and control in major emergencies. Geneva: World Health Organization. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2000/WHO_NHD_00.10.pdf).Google Scholar
WHO Anthrops Tools. www.who.int/tools/child-growth-standards/software.Google Scholar

Useful websites

Food and Agriculture Organization: www.fao.org.

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition: www.gainhealth.org.

HarvestPlus: www.harvestplus.org

International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders: www.iccidd.org.

International Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements Project (iLiNS): www.ilins.org.

International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group: www.izincg.org.

Micronutrient Forum: www.micronutrientforum.org.

Micronutrient Initiative: www.www.nutritionintl.org.

World Health Organization (nutrition pages): www.who.int/topics/nutrition/en/.

World Health Organization guidance on complementary feeding:

www.who.int/health-topics/complementary-feeding#tab=tab_1.

www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guiding_principles_compfeeding_breastfed.pdf

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×