FSC in Dialog: "Dietary patterns and Non Communicable Diseases"

by Farah Naja, Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Food at Sciences American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Non communicable diseases (NCD) are increasingly recognized as alternate manifestations of food insecurity especially in developing countries. While diet has long been studied in association with NCD, recently, the dietary patterns approach, evaluating dietary intake as a whole, has showed promising results compared to the traditional single food/nutrient approach. Studying dietary patterns takes into consideration the synergistic effects of nutrients and produces culture specific recommendations. During this seminar, the various dietary patterns and their association with obesity and metabolic abnormalities in Lebanon were presented. In addition, an index for assessing adherence to a Middle-Eastern version of the Mediterranean diet as represented by the traditional Lebanese Mediterranean Diet (LMD) was discussed.