TheNutritionTransition

DanielC.Ervin,DavidLpezCarr,AnnaCarlaLpezCarr
LASTREVIEWED:06MAY2015
LASTMODIFIED:25JUNE2013
DOI:10.1093/OBO/97801998740020078

Introduction
Thenutritiontransitiontheoryconcernsthebroadchangesinthepatternofhumandietthathaveoccurredacrosstimeand
space.TheideawascreatedbyDr.BarryPopkinandarosefromthedemographictransitiontheory,whichdescribesthe
changesinhumanbirthanddeathpatterns,andtheepidemiologicaltransitiontheory,whichdescribesthechangesincausesof
death.Thenutritiontransitionisdescribedbyfivestages:foodgathering,famine,recedingfamine,degenerativediseases,and
behavioralchangetowardahealthy,balanceddiet.Currently,thevastmajorityoftheworldspeopleremaininpattern3
(recedingfamine)orpattern4(degenerativediseases).Theyareeitheremergingfromundernutritionbecauseofalackof
caloriesorcertainnutrientsortheyareengagedinamodernformofmalnutritionconsistingoftoomanycaloriesfromunhealthy
sources.Themoderndietofpattern4ishighinoils,sugars,animalproducts,fat,cholesterol,sweeteners,andprocessedand
preparedfoods.Theresultsofthistransitionarethediminishmentoffamineandthediseasesthataccompanyit,whichhave
plaguedhumankindformostofourexistence.Unfortunately,thisiscomplementedbytherapidgrowthofnutritionrelated
noncommunicablediseases(NRNCDs).Themostobviousoftheseisobesity,butitalsoincludesdiabetes,cardiovascular
disease,cancer,andthemetabolicsyndrome.Thetransitiontothisnewdiethasalreadyoccurredthroughoutthedeveloped
worldandisoccurringinthedevelopingnationsatanalarmingspeed.However,theshiftbetweeneatingpatternsremains
incomplete,andmanyplacesfaceboththediseasesofundernutritionandmalnutrition,thesocalleddoubleburden.The
negativeoutcomesofthesetwopatternsareexacerbatedamongtheworldspoorboththepoorportionsofthedevelopedworld
andthepoornationsofthedevelopingworld.Thistopicisonethatoverlapswithmanyacademicfields,includingmedicine,
nutrition,publichealth,epidemiology,anddemography.Asgeographerswewillattempttoprovideabroadintroductiontothe
theory,butwebelievethatgeographyisaparticularlyrelevantperspective.Thenutritiontransitionisspatiallyheterogeneousa
slumhouseholdinacitymaybeinstage2ofthetransition,whileanearbyluxuryhomemaybeinstage5.Geographyand
geographicalmethodssensitivetospatialscalearethereforecritical.Sincemuchoftheresearchonthistopicisinpublichealth,
thereisagreatopportunityforgeographerstobecomemoreactiveinsolvingexistingnutritionparadoxes.Thisarticlewill
provideliteratureonthecurrentstatusofnutritiontransitionthroughouttheworld,withthegreaterfocusonthenewerpatternof
malnutrition.Thiswillincludeitscauses,itseffects,relatedconcepts,responses,andfuturedirections.

GeneralOverviews

Thissectioncontainsgeneraloverviewsoftheconceptofthenutritiontransition.Popkin2002aisanarticlelengthintroduction
tothetheory,whileCaballeroandPopkin2002isabooklengthtreatmentofthesametopic.WorldHealthOrganization2003
providesamorecomprehensiveandlessacademicperspective.Popkin2002brepresentsanintroductiontotheparticular
issuesdevelopingcountriesface.Incontrasttotherestofthesourcesinthissection,SembaandBloem2008andUnited
NationsSystemStandingCommitteeonNutrition2010concernmostlyundernutrition.

Caballero,Benjamin,andBarryM.Popkin,eds.TheNutritionTransition:DietandDiseaseintheDevelopingWorld.New
York:AcademicPress,2002.
Abooklongtreatmentofthenutritiontransition,editedbytwooftheleadingscholarsinthefield.Providesaglobaloverviewand
moredetailonselectedtopicsofimportance.Anexcellentbooktobeginyoursearch,andperhapsallthatisneededforthe
casualreader.

Popkin,BarryM.AnOverviewontheNutritionTransitionandItsHealthImplications:TheBellagioMeeting.PublicHealth
Nutrition5.1A(2002a):93103.
Ashortreviewofthetheoryofthenutritiontransition,easilyunderstoodandrepletewithinformativefigures.Writtenbythe
preeminentscholaronthetopic.Quicklysketchestheoutlineofthenutritiontransitionasithasoccurredinmajorregionsofthe
world,discussingwhatisknownandareaswheredataarelacking.

Popkin,BarryM.TheShiftinStagesoftheNutritionTransitionintheDevelopingWorldDiffersfromPastExperiences!
PublicHealthNutrition5.1A(2002b):205214.
Spellsouthowandwhythecurrentnutritiontransitionprocessinthedevelopingworldisdifferentthanwhatoccurredinthe
developedworld.Goodintroductiontotheissuesaffectingthedevelopingworld.

Semba,RichardD.,andMartinW.Bloem,eds.NutritionandHealthinDevelopingCountries.Totowa,NJ:HumanaPress,
2008.
Anacademicbookprovidinginformationaboutundernutrition,althoughitdoesdevotesometimeattheendtothenutrition
relatednoncommunicablediseases.Astarttothetopicoftheglobalnutritionsituation.

UnitedNationsSystemStandingCommitteeonNutrition.ProgressinNutrition:6thReportontheWorldNutritionSituation.
Geneva,Switzerland:UnitedNationsSystem,2010.
Anoverviewofthenutritionsituationthroughoutmuchoftheworld,focusedmostlyontheproblemsofundernutrition.

WorldHealthOrganization.Diet,Nutrition,andthePreventionofChronicDiseases:ReportofaJointWHO/FAOExpert
Consultation.TechnicalReport916.Geneva,Switzerland:WorldHealthOrganization,2003.
Adetailedreportoutlininghowchangesindiethaveaffectedthemorbidityofchronicdiseasesworldwide.Agoodreference
workforthistopic,andwritteninanaccessiblemanner.
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