Review of Proposed Strategies to Improve Nutrition in Different Communities

The evidence suggests that Iranian society is rapidly moving towards a double problem in an accelerated nutritional transition. This means that on the one hand, energy protein malnutrition in children less than 5 years of age and deficiency of micronutrients (iron, iodine, zinc, calcium, and vitamins A and D) are observed in a large share of the country’s population. According to ANIS study by the Office of Community Nutrition Improvement in the Ministry of Health in 1998, 800,000 children under 5 years (15.4%) suffer from moderate to severe nutritional shortness, which indicates chronic and longterm malnutrition. The National Survey of Micronutrients in 2002 also indicated that 15 to 40% of children, adolescents, and pregnant women are deficient in iron and there is zinc deficiency in about 30% of children and adolescents and 44% of the pregnant women in the country. On the other hand, warning signs of the spread of metabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and various cancers can be seen in cities, especially large cities. According to the available statistics, out of every 800 deaths per day, 300 deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases, and one of the main reasons is a change in food consumption pattern