Nutrition informatics is the integration of nutrition and information technology, which involves the collection, organization, analysis, and use of dietary data. It involves using technical processes for the collection of large data sets, which will help in future policymaking 1. The field of nutrition informatics includes useful tools that aid in elucidating the connections between diet and disease as they relate to socioeconomic and agricultural changes on all scales.1 Nutrition informatics plays an important role in public health through disease surveillance, providing preventive care, and organizing surveys.  2

Current nutritional status of India

In India, health has improved over the years, but this improvement has been uneven and inequitable. Maternal and child nutrition is very poor in underprivileged areas, which have very limited access to services with respect to nutrition and health. 3 factors causing malnutrition include mothers’ nutritional status, lactation behavior, women’s education, and sanitation. All these factors also affect children, causing stunting, retarded growth, and childhood illness 4.

Anaemia is an important public health problem in the country, Anemia can be caused by deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12, with iron deficiency being the most common cause. According to the most recent NFHS-5 data, anemia affects 57% of women and 25% of men between the ages of 15 and 495.

Due to limited access to balanced nutrition, there has been an increase in the incidence of metabolic disorders like overweight obesity, diabetes type 2, and cardiac diseases.  Both adult males and females in India have become more overweight and obese. NFHS-5 recorded 24% of adult women as being overweight or obese.

This dual burden of malnutrition seeks immediate attention to improve nutrition for good health. India’s public distribution system aims at distributing important services to the marginalized population at subsidized rates to ensure food security for all.  However, there have been constant challenges as well5. There is an urgent need to improve the nutrition status of India, and the involvement of informatics and technology can be beneficial.

Role of Nutrition Informatics in Public Health

Nutrition is an important part of public health; it is about the quality and quantity of food being accessible to all, and one of the major concerns of public health is the availability and accessibility of nutrition and food to all. As mentioned above, malnutrition is one of the major causes of NCDs. Foodborne disease is also a concern for public health. Both of these factors contribute to the increased burden of disease in the community.

From the perspective of public health, in order to reduce the burden of disease, proper education and awareness should be given to the people about nutrition 6. It will involve training public health professionals to work in the field of nutrition informatics. It will make the collection of data easier leading to more frequent use of it in developing nutrition programs. Data-driven approaches are promoted globally for the good health of the people and will help in taking forward this data-driven approach by using a mix of nutrition information and technology at community level  7 .

Nutrition Information Platform in India

To improve and work on the nutritional status of India many efforts are made by the government and other organizations to address the issue several Nutrition platforms have been developed in India. Here is a mention of a few effective platforms

  • SHINE – The SMAART Hub for Informatics-enabled Nutrition Education, by Foundation of Healthcare Technologies Society, New Delhi, India – focuses on the process, development, and technology for providing nutrition care and aims to become a global platform for nutrition informatics research, innovation, policy, practice, and entrepreneurship.13
  • ICMR-NIN has launched a platform called Nutrition Atlas – This includes a collection of all data related to nutrition from various sources including the data collected from the” National nutritional monitoring board”. This contains data ranging from the nutritional importance of food to the effect of nutrition on the population, this also includes mapping and plotting nutritional statistics in India. This will help public health workers and policymakers to get an insight into the statistics and build policy according to the needs of the country 8.
  • Many schemes launched by the government to improve the nutrition and health status of India include the Mid Day Meal scheme, The weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation scheme, the Integrated Child development scheme, National Iodine deficiency control program.11

Applications & Challenges of Nutrition Informatics

Application of Nutrition Informatics12:

  • The government will provide accurate data on food as it is a public health concern.
  • Production of Nutrient rich food will help companies as well as people.
  • The development of Nutrition Informatics will also open up many job opportunities for the younger generations.
  • This system is important for the development of the health status of the country.
  • This will create awareness about the importance of nutrition, food safety, hygiene and public health.

Nutrition Informatics presents numerous challenges too12:

  • The development of a Platform of Nutrition Informatics needs skill and knowledge about the concerned domain.
  • Management, designing, database set-up, communication and integration of all these are important for the development of a valuable error-free Nutrition Information system.
  • People are not aware of this platform, and many efforts are required for marketing this field so that it reaches the public as a concerned issue to look at.
  • Getting funds and stakeholders is a concern as it is required from the beginning.
  • It is important to train public health professionals and other health professionals about its usage of it otherwise its purpose will not be served.

Conclusion

Hence, the use of informatics in the field of nutrition can have a positive effect on public health at a global level, leading to the development of more nutrition improvement policies. There should be continuous efforts to increase awareness about Nutrition Informatics among people. Proper education and training should be given to the healthcare workers who will work in Nutrition informatics. It can improve the nutritional status of a country if it is used well. Many nutrition informatics-related platforms have been launched globally and in India to improve the nutrition standard of the country by maintaining large data sets.

References

  1. //doi.org/10.3390/nu13061836
  2. //actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-05-0876.pdf
  3. //doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247856
  4. //link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41271-018-0149-5
  5. //www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/global-nutrition-report-2021
  6. //www.primescholars.com/articles/food-and-nutrition-matters-of-public-health.pdf
  7. //ssca.org.in/media/16._Nutrition_Atlas_2018_resubmission_v5.pdf
  8. //ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2205663.pdf
  9. //www.nhp.gov.in/healthlyliving/healthy-nutrition
  10. //fhts.ac.in/highlight/shine-smaart-hub-for-informatics-enabled-nutrition-education
  11. //doi.org/10.1093/database/baab003
  12. //papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3042148
  13. //nutritioninformatics.info