Sustainable Health Through Food, Nutrition, and Lifestyle

Food, health, and sustainability have an interconnective and reciprocated system that is influenced by the cultural traditions, environmental contexts, and the impact of transformations over time. The SDG-2 has stressed extractions of hunger while achieving food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable agriculture. These interlinkages have several networks and niches, which are examined and appraised in different regions, in various ways, through many approaches. This small chapter presents some of the examples of such scenarios and synthesises the contradictions of the emerging dimensions as raised in the present anthology. Also illustrated here are the notable contributions in this field by (late) Prof. R. B. Singh (1955–2021), who passed away while this work was in process; this way, this book is a memorial tribute to him.

Sustainable health has always been a critical component of a society’s growth and development, even more so in the modern era, when pandemics like COVID-19 have shaken the healthcare systems of every country on the Earth. Sustainable health is crucial for both long-term recovery and crisis readiness. Food, nutrition and lifestyle are the primary determinants of sustainable health. Food consumption and the factors that influence it are changing in both urban and rural locations, with significant implications for food production. In underdeveloped countries like India, people are underweight and at risk of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency disorders. Nutritional status has deteriorated in India over decades as a result of insufficient food systems that are neither affordable nor sustainable. Malnutrition was the leading risk factor for death among children under the age of five in all of India’s states in 2017. This chapter discusses the critical role of food, nutrition and lifestyle in achieving a sustainable health system. Additionally, the health scenario in India is explored in general, with an emphasis on urban health. This chapter will provide an overview of sustainable health and how these can be incorporated into a country’s policy decision-making for a more effective health system.

With the urban population growing rapidly, models of food intake have evolved and diversified. The current research aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of city dwellers’ food strategies along with their nutritional intake on the one hand, and in another to assess the microbiological quality of those home-made and street-vended foods. A transversal study was carried out within the city in 2021. Using a simple random sampling, 3200 individuals were selected in 18 representative neighbourhoods out of the 121 in the city. The investigation involved (i) a socio-demographic survey in order to apprehend food consumption patterns and (ii) a microbiologic assessment to mainly identify the presence or absence of microbial pathogens. Regardless of age and socio-economic status, almost all city dwellers consume food at home and outside the home. However, street-vended foods account for 47% of food expenses and offer sale opportunities for locally produced items scarcely eaten at home and provide nutritive supplements to low socio-economic status individuals. Should food security be guaranteed in urban areas? Stakeholders in charge of food and nutrition must consider factors that have an effect on the food consumption behaviours of city dwellers. Besides, food inspections must be conducted on a regular basis to achieve food safety.

The sudden increase of infectious disease occurrences in a specified location and time is called a disease outbreak. The impact could affect, in the least case, the daily life of the population in the collapse of the country’s economic and demographic structure. Geospatial technologies have been an important tool in analyzing and making informed decisions to manage public health since the seventeenth century. In recent years, the GIS system’s functional capabilities have been tremendously developed that help the decision-makers in identifying the geographical factors, temporal spread, and velocity of the disease, model the data using mathematical algorithms for predictive analysis, and visualize them in real time through the use of connected devices. Waterborne diseases are transmitted by consuming contaminated water (WHO). In the year 2012, WHO estimated that low- and middle-income countries have recorded 842,000 deaths per year, including 361,000 in children under the age of five. In India, The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) to report all the disease outbreaks across the country since 2011. The study used IDSP disease outbreak weekly reports from 2011 to 2020 and the Census of India—2011 data for the analysis. The IDSP report covers most of the waterborne disease outbreaks across the country at a village and district level with how they are managed and reported with their local causes. The voluminous data (2011–2020) is compiled and attributed in the GIS database. The spatial statistics of the data reveal the hot and cold spots spatially across the country, which are associated with the rainfall pattern of India and other local phenomena. Getis–Ord Gi* statistic is used seasonal and annual data of the outbreaks; the Z-and P-values highlight the high and low clusters, which represents the context of neighboring attributes the study visualizes the outbreak hot spots along the east coast soon after the monsoon month gets over similar pattern is also found in the west coast of India. The spatial pattern and temporal sequencing of waterborne diseases with the use of geospatial technologies and geostatistical applications would help the governments to control and alleviate the severity and occurrence of the diseases.

Peri-urban agriculture is defined as agriculture that has been undertaken on the periphery or fringes of urban areas. Agriculture in the peri-urban region is under tremendous pressure due to rapid urban developmental activities. The aim of the study is to analyze the role of peri-urban agriculture in the food supply. The present study has been constructed on secondary data of Delhi and its periphery. The food supply analysis depicts that high calories food is being produced in Delhi and the districts of CNCR due to the subsistence nature of farming in the area. On the contrary, due to high population pressure, acquisition of land, cultivation of remunerative crops, and availability of less net sown area in the area makes them food deficient in kilocalories. The pattern of food and non-food supply in monetary value depicts that very few districts of Delhi-Central NCR have deficit food and non-food supply in terms of money due to two reasons, first, farmers are quitting farming as a profession, and second, farming at subsistence level. Their agricultural produce gives them enough money so that they can buy food or other articles from the market.

Malnutrition is considered a catalyst to global burden diseases, and it is a major concern in developing countries like India. Child malnutrition has declined over the decade, but one-third of children are still malnourished, which adversely effects the mental health of children and is a risk factor of child mortality as well as morbidity. About 1.04 million under-5 mortality is occurred due to malnutrition in India. This present study is investigated to examine child malnutrition across gender among the states and major tribal states in India. For this study purpose, National family health (NFHS-4) data is used to analyze gender-wise child malnutrition status among all states and fourteen major tribal states in India. The bivariate and binomial logistic regression model has been done to understand the distribution of malnutrition status among children and the impact of background variables in child malnutrition. These results show that a high prevalence rate of malnutrition is observed in Northern, Central, and Eastern parts of India; it is about 40% in the stunting and underweight indicator among malnutrition parameters. Half of the children belonging to the socially backward class are at a higher risk of malnourishment. The prevalence rate of malnutrition indicators such as stunting and underweight is very high about 50% in the Jharkhand among the major tribal states. Significantly, this study found that female children are less malnourished than male ones but, in Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, underweight is high among girls compared to boys, and stunting is high in females than the male in Maharashtra among the tribal population. So, this is inspiring that we needed effective nutrition and health policy for reducing malnutrition in India and fulfilling the SDG goals 2 and 5 and targets by 2030.

For centuries man has understood the importance of food, diet, and diversity to deliver the required nutrition. What one eats has a profound impact on an individual’s health and well-being. Various data sources indicate that India is doing poorly in terms of correct deliveries of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) in spite of the production of about 260 million tonnes of food grains (cereals, pulses, and oilseeds), about 300 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables, about 180 million tonnes of milk, 5.3 million tonnes of meat, and 75 billion eggs per year. Food and nutrition delivery systems have to cater to the adequacy of calories and proteins for energetic humans as well as provide required micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and food fibres) for imparting immunity. Nutrient deficiency diseases create a burden on the economy on account of not-so-healthy manpower to contribute to national GDP as well as create a burden on “public-healthcare systems”. Recent data on child malnutrition, infant mortality, and the prevalence of lifestyle diseases in India and other developing countries is evidence requiring serious attention of the scientific community, executive bodies, and the conscious efforts by individuals themselves. Health costs on the public exchequer finding “health services” and related infrastructure are high, and an “Economy-in transition” can ill afford “malnutrition” and increasing health issues during decades ahead. This chapter discusses the detailed food processing operations (covering farm-to-fork) that can work as a conduit to carry food products both in their natural forms and “minimal processing”. Sensory appeal, tastes in particular, of the food is extremely important for the individuals in choosing food options in parallel with the nutrient content. The chapter further provides challenging opportunities in developing newer products to cater to this dual competing requirement towards meeting the goals of lifestyle and wellness world-over.

Tribes comprise 8.61% of the Indian population as per the 2011 Census and occupy second place in the indigenous population of the world. Undernutrition is a significant health problem in adult tribal populations of India. Undernutrition causes minerals (iron and iodine) and nutrient deficiency and predisposes to infections. If undernutrition is persistent from childhood, it increases the risk of non-communicable diseases. Anthropometric measurements are used to determine undernutrition or chronic energy deficiency. In this study, a total sample size of 29,953 individuals (male = 19,354 and female = 10,599) was included from various studies published from the years 2001 to 2020 in India, involving 85 tribes from across 50 studies. For review and meta-analysis, mean BMI from a total of 125 male populations from 45 studies and 61 female populations from 36 studies and 128 hundred male populations from 48 studies, and 55 female populations from 55 studies for the incidence studies on undernutrition, were included. Based on the mean BMI comparison, it was concluded that 0.8% had Grade III, 3.2% Grade II, and 24.8% Grade I chronic energy deficiency (CED) in men. Among tribal women, the incidence of CED Grades III, II, and I was 1.6%, 3.2%, and 29.50%, respectively. The CED Grade I was a common CED category among both sexes, but its incidence was higher among women than men. Comparison of mean BMI between both genders in meta-analysis revealed heterogeneity. In both sexes, the incidence of undernutrition was more than 50% but was higher in women than men. Among men and women across tribes’ heterogeneity was observed in the incidence of undernutrition. Studies showed a significant prevalence of hypertension and typed 2 diabetes mellitus among the undernourished tribal participants.

With undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies afflicting the country, India experiences a triple burden of malnutrition. Recent decades have seen modest progress when it comes to health in India, but progress has been uneven and inequitable. This study reviews food and nutrition status in India. The diversity in food is enabled by variety in nutrition, which is only possible with serious crop diversification. The nutrient uptake is majorly cereal-centric as food production, availability, and access are impacted by the agricultural policy that has placed a significant thrust on food grain production spurred by the green revolution and supported by the institutions. India is not only affected by malnutrition amongst the poor but also amongst all socio-economic groups. India ranks 101 out of 116 countries based on the Global Hunger Index 2020. The Global Nutrition Report 2018 clearly mentions that India is home to 46.6 million stunted children and 25.5 million wasted children. India ranks 103 out of 119 qualifying countries per the Global Hunger Index 2018. Malnutrition was the predominant risk factor for death in children younger than five years of age in every state of India in 2017 (GBD), accounting for 68.2% (95% UI 65.8–70.7) of the total under-5 deaths and the leading risk factor for health loss for all ages, responsible for 17.3% (16.3–18.2) of the entire disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). In India, nutrition status has deteriorated over decades because of ineffective policy interventions and inadequate food systems, which are neither affordable nor sustainable. There are severe gaps in India’s nutrition statistics, and even the most important nutrition trends are far from explicit; practical action in this field requires regular and reliable large-scale surveys that would make it possible to monitor the nutrition situation at the district levels at intervals.

This chapter reviews theory existing research and presents the authors’ analysis of in-depth interviews with information technology (IT) professionals on the relationship between spirituality and mental health protection. The participants of the study are representatives of a specific professional group burdened with many stereotypes concerning their psychological functioning, often considered to be far from sustainable mental health. Extant research shows evidence of a negative correlation between spirituality and mental health diseases such as anxiety, depression, suicide, and schizophrenia. The chapter is focused on (a) operationalization of spirituality as a biologically rooted phenomenon in the light of David Hay’s conception, (b) identifying the relationship between spirituality and sustainable mental health, (c) analysis of this relationship by exploiting qualitative research design, i.e., in-depth biographical interviews from IT professionals. The results show that IT professionals treat a high sense of spirituality as a personal competence, which makes them be more involved in their work and feel happy in their personal lives, which results in sustainable mental health protection on an existential level. Moreover, spirituality is narratively understood as a biographical phenomenon, which plays an important role to provide courage to face new challenges, providing a feeling of satisfaction, and creating empathy to others in the professional life of IT experts. Spiritual evidently can create happiness in the personal and professional lives of IT professionals and develops more patience in tough times, which are also some of the signs of good mental health. Based on our results, we propose organizations introduce professional training programs to enhance spirituality in IT professionals for sustainable mental health.

The main task of the chapter is to present the concepts of healthy cities, healthy active cities healthy cities and villages, and related concepts such as Green Cities, Slow Cities, and healthy smart cities (refer to SDG 11). All sectors of the economy are essential for implementing these schemes, and local governments have a unique leadership position in protecting and promoting the health and well-being of residents (refer to the SDG 17). The concept to enable all citizens, regardless of their socioeconomic status, to be physically active in day-to-day life (refer to the SDG 3) can probably be realized through solutions that are most easily accessible to all, such as bike-sharing and outdoor activities gyms if local governments enable their implementation. Next, we discuss the following two examples of research performed on these city physical activity solutions, including studies conducted in Polish cities: (a) The development of bike-sharing stations (BSS) and how and why people use them in two Polish cities: Warsaw and Bialystok. (b) Outdoor gym (OG) perception and governance: similarities and differences on a global scale; complemented by a case study in Warsaw.

Introduction: The adolescence stage for a girl is a period of physical, biological, and psychological preparation for safe motherhood. This is a very crucial period for adolescent girls as if their diet is not healthy, it will create a problem for the future generation. In modern western societies, an unhealthy lifestyle is causing many problems like unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and substance abuse which acknowledge major health diseases. An unhealthy lifestyle contributes to sickness, which makes absenteeism from work. Objectives: The current study aims to understand the pattern of lifestyle and what are factors determine lifestyle choices among young females, and the association of lifestyle patterns and health/nutritional status. Method: Primary data on 300 young females (15–19 years) was collected from selected urban environs in Delhi using a multi-stage stratified sampling design. Detailed information about household characteristics, demographic and social characteristics, physical activity, dietary patterns, leisure time activities, and anthropometric characteristics of young females were collected. Appropriate Univariate (frequency distribution), multivariate statistics (multiple linear regression model), and ANOVA test have been applied to achieve the objectives of the present research. Results and Conclusion: Data suggests marked demographic and socioeconomic differentials in lifestyle patterns of young females in Delhi. Close to one-fifth of young females indulged in substance abuse. Results indicate that physical activity was positively associated with BMI among young females. Consumption of fast food and eating desert were positively associated with BMI. Findings called for a context-specific healthy lifestyle, and health promotion policies and programs must be tailored for adolescents.

The COVID-19 has brought a significant blow to the global economy, and it is urgent to solve public health problems. This article analyzes the impact of the Chinese doctor’s resource allocation, doctor quality, and price on the resident’s health. Theoretically, it is found that increasing the number of doctors and reducing the number of patients will change the quality and price of doctors, thereby affecting the health of residents. The empirical analysis found that the lower health level of Chinese residents is the unbalanced regional distribution, fewer doctors, and doctor’s lower quality. For urban and rural areas, the increase in the number of urban doctors squeezes out rural doctor’s resources and reduces the overall health level. In terms of the three major regions in the east, middle and west, the number of patients and doctors and the price of medical treatment will affect the resident’s health in the east. In addition, the quality and quantity of doctors will affect the health of residents in the central region. Besides, the quality of doctors will affect the health of residents in the west.

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness in cities of the importance of a healthy lifestyle through food. In Tokyo, urban gardening using the rooftops of live venues and other buildings has emerged in the city center, and new public spaces have been established. In Berlin and Rome, many urban gardens have been established in the 2010s as a temporary use of vacant and unused land, and a new food space has been formed in a way that is related to the urban lifestyle. These new urban gardening projects are managed from the bottom up, and they have the potential to become an effective tool for shaping lifestyle and food spaces in cities. This study reconsiders the role of “new urban gardening”, which has gained prominence in the wake of COVID-19. For this purpose, this paper gives a brief historical overview of urban gardening in Germany, Italy and Japan and then describes three case studies of new urban gardens in Berlin (Prinzessinnengarten), Rome (Hortus Urbis) and Tokyo (Jūsangatsu Farm). The paper concludes that the role of urban gardens in global cities around the world as public spaces for citizens’ well-being, for food production, as meeting places and as places of learning has become more pronounced in recent years and even more so during the corona pandemic.

In Nigeria, fresh fruits and vegetable shops (FFAVS) belong to the informal land use category with a gap of poor spatial and administrative management. Due to these lapses, Nigeria cities, particularly Birnin Kebbi, have been unable to standardize and maximize the operations of these shops—for the achievement of access, nutritional quality, and spatial balance. Using desk studies, spatial data, questionnaire administration and personal communication with food marketers, residents, and other stakeholders in different neighborhoods of Birnin Kebbi Metropolis, it was discovered that, due to petty buying informed patronage, there are more FFAVS in the high-density areas compared to medium and low. Despite this, only about 5% of the residents can access FFAVS within a 5–10 min’ walk—thereby informing exclusion. With X² = 124.20, p = 0.03; there is a relationship between the type of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed by residents and those available in the FFAVS. However, about 75% of the respondents reported that goods obtained from the FFAVs, which are relatively expensive, would have at the time of purchase reduced in appearance. Unfortunately, products in FFAVs stands, even informal grocery stores, are not evaluated for safety by the Community Health Department of the metropolitan government. This paper, therefore, among others, recommends the establishment of a multidisciplinary department for the management of the location, activities, and operations of the FFAVS in the metropolis.

As per the Global HIV and AIDS statistics—fact sheet released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2021, the world had a total of 37.7 million people living with HIV in 2020 with adults of 36.0 million and children (0–14 years) of 1.7 million. Women and girls constitute 53% of total HIV population. About 16% of population did not know their HIV status in 2020 (UNAIDS in FACT SHEET—WORLD AIDS DAY 2021. https://​www.​unaids.​org/​sites/​default/​files/​media_​asset/​UNAIDS_​FactSheet_​en.​pdf). India bears the world's third-largest HIV population with 2.3 million having 1.2 million with HIV incidence per 1000 population (all ages) being 0.04 (UNAIDS in Country factsheets INDIA 2020. https://​www.​unaids.​org/​en/​regionscountries​/​countries/​india). This chapter provides a theoretical scheme to reduce urban migration linked HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination using narratives of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) for data collection and Grounded Theory approach (Interpretative Approach) for its analysis. With socially responsible approaches to mass media, the study aims to understand the types of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination present in our society; the ways by which HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination defeat HIV/AIDS reduction campaigns in society and finally the possible measures that can be taken to reduce the HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination?

In a bid to achieve sustainable development, there is a need for a connection and integration of indigenous knowledge systems and western knowledge (medicine), most especially in the area of health care. In a bid to achieve sustainable development in the health care system, there is a need for a deeper understanding of diseases in terms of their perception among indigenous people based on their indigenous knowledge, consumption, and lifestyle. This will help in designing a sustainable health system. This chapter adopts Idakole (erectile dysfunction)-a unique sexual ailment peculiar to men as a narrative to contribute significantly to knowledge. This chapter, therefore, investigates the gap in knowledge as regards the perception of Idakole in Ibadan metropolis, Oyo State. The closest ailment to Idakole in western medicine is erectile dysfunction. Regarding the perception of Idakole (erectile dysfunction), the chapter examines the perspectives of indigenous and western knowledge systems. Of essence is the fact that the understanding of Idakole in the indigenous system differs in some regards to erectile dysfunction in western medicine. The chapter explores the knowledge gap in terms of the constructions, experiences, and treatment pathways of erectile dysfunction through local contextual research in Ibadan, South-western Nigeria. The findings in the chapter were based on a qualitative study conducted in 2018. A series of in-depth and key informant interviews and a period of six months of interactions were conducted with key stakeholders, including local herbal medicine sellers, local aphrodisiac sellers, men with erectile dysfunction, and urologists.

Health has always been a matter of concern for all. Changes in behaviours related to health and climate variability have been evident in the past few years. Alterations in ambient air, water, food, and shelter due to changing climate are weakening health infrastructure. Though people in all age groups are more focussed on dietary patterns and lifestyle in general and with the increasing attention towards health-related aspects, preservation of health has become the most important concern globally. Various dimensions of health such as physical, social, psychological, and spiritual are now separately considered contributing factors to the overall maintenance of well-being. Personal, social, and environmental factors significantly impact the state of health and wellness in individuals. Additionally, biological factors such as genetics, gut microbiota, and neurotransmitters affect mental health. Dietary patterns, nutrition, physical exercises, emotional factors, personality traits, socio-environmental, and demographic conditions also play a significant role in promoting health-related behaviours and building the immune system. Creating awareness and spreading knowledge regarding the need and importance of various aspects of health and opting for sustainable developmental strategies specifically in the industrial and agricultural sectors are the need of the hour. An overall assessment and analysis of factors contributing to a healthy state can be influential in developing a multidimensional approach which can, in turn, be beneficial to the society at large to overcome challenging situations such as a pandemic and the stressors generated due to changing climate.