Food and Health Flashcards
(24 cards)
Health
a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing
Food miles
measure of the distance that food travels from its source to the consumer. This can be given either in units of actual distance or of energy consumed during transport.
HALE
Health-adjusted life expectancy, based on life expectancy at birth but including an adjustment for time spent in poor health (due to disease and/or injury). It is the equivalent number of years in full health that a newborn can expect to live, based on current rates of ill health and mortality.
Transnational corporation (TNC)
A firm that owns or controls productive operations in more than one country through foreign direct investment.
Life expectancy
The average number of years a person born today would be expected to live given constant mortality conditions.
Infant mortality rate
the number of infant deaths ( deaths of children below 1 year old) per 1000 live births per year
calorie intake
The amount of energy intake from food per person per day. Measured in kilocalories per person per day
Access to safe drinking water
the source is less than 1 kilometre away and it is possible to reliably obtain at least 20 litres per member of a household per day. The water must be up to the WHO standards.
access to health services
Access to health refers to the number of healthcare facilities per 10,000 people or healthcare expenditure per capita.
Malnutrition
A state of poor nutrition. This usually results from a deficiency of proteins, energy or minerals. May lead to one of a range of diseases depending on the particular nature of the malnutrition.
Temporary hunger
Hunger is when there is a desire for food triggered by physiological responses caused by food deprivation.
Chronic hunger
A state where the desire for food becomes extreme, due to prolonged food deprivation, to the point where normal bodily functions begin to be affected.
Famine
situation where acute malnutrition rates among children exceed 30%, more than 2 people per 10 000 die per day, and people are not able to access food and other basic necessities
Prevalence of a disease
The number of cases of a disease per 10,000 of the population
Incidence
The risk of developing a disease or condition, measured by the number of new cases confirmed annually
infectious
the quality of a disease being caused by an infectious agent which is directly or indirectly transmitted from a source of infection – living or non-living – to a susceptible host
Non-communicable
the quality used to describe a disease that cannot be transmitted from an infected host.
degenerative
a quality of a disease where the structure and function of the infected tissue worsens over time. e.g. osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease
Endemic
A disease that occurs frequently in a specific geographic location or within a species. e.g HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
Superbug
A strain of bacteria that has become resistant to normally used antibiotics e.g MRSA
Re-emergent
a disease that had previously decreased in incidence due to being controlled or eliminated, which has recently increased in incidence e.g West Nile Virus (Endemic to Uganda and East Africa, transmitted by mosquitoes, re-emerged in NYC in 1999)
DALY
disability adjusted life year. It quantifies the burden of disease from mortality and morbidity. One DALY is one lost year of healthy life. the sum of these DALYs across the population measures how far away we are from an ideal health situation
Food security
When all people at all times have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Food aid
Any food-supported intervention aimed at improving the food security in an area.
