Description
The combination of the dietary intake research and the nutritional status assessment analyses provided an excellent, and possibly the first, example of the complimentary value of having data on both nutrient intakes and biochemical markers of status. The dietary data are important for estimating the prevalence of inadequate intakes of specific nutrients, and for identifying potential fortification vehicles (e.g. wheat flour), and the calculation of the impact of different levels of fortification on the prevalence of inadequate or excessive intakes of each nutrient. The biochemical data were necessary to confirm the prevalence of most deficiencies predicted from the food intake data. The biochemical values also provide a baseline for monitoring changes in the biochemical data after fortification. Thus, it is advised that future monitoring and evaluation, and nutritional surveillance, initiatives should include both the use of dietary information, as well as key biomarkers of nutritional status. Capability to carry out this type of work should be ensured as part of the policies in public health nutrition. Ziad Abdeen is a Professor in Public Health at Al-Quds University. He also holds appointment as Professor of Nutritional Sciences at University of Toronto. His degrees include a Ph.D. in clinical biochemistry and an M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Hopkins University. In 2005, he was elected “Fellow” of the American Academy of Science.
