Western foods are generally of poor quality and as a result the Western diet is a low quality diet. The link between diet and disease is well established and increasingly consumption of a Western style diet is being associated with cancer and cardiovascular disease. One of the problems associated with consumption of Western foods are the low levels of micronutrients in the refined foods that comprise the diet. Many studies have investigated the micronutrient intakes in various countries and such studies have consistently found those living in developed nations have low intakes of micronutrients. Further, socioeconomic status has been shown to affect the levels of essential nutrients in the developed nations. Families of low socioeconomic status have restricted access to healthy foods and as a result their nutrient intakes are suboptimal. In addition, the work related commitments of some parents of low socioeconomic status may contribute to poor dietary practices. The low micronutrient intakes of the poor may contribute to their higher rates of disease.
Large scale investigations of nutrients intakes have been made in a number of countries to assess links between nutrition and disease. Such large scale studies include the NHANES studies in the United States. However, a number of smaller studies have also been performed to assess particular aspects of nutritional intake. One such small scale study used dietary recall to assess the micronutrient intake of 2134 individuals including those from poor districts in American cities that are of low socioeconomic status1. The results showed that levels of vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium were significantly higher in the white Americans compared to the Mexican-Americans. Of all the vitamins, vitamin C was most negatively affected by low socioeconomic status. Sub-group analysis of the female subjects showed that irrespective of their socioeconomic status female had intakes of calcium and iron below the US RDA. Only intakes of B vitamins, phosphorus and potassium showed no differences between ethnic groups and were above the RDA levels.
These results suggest that vitamin and mineral intakes in Western nations are not optimal. They also suggest that socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals many have lower intakes of certain micronutrients, particularly vitamin C. A number of minerals were not tested in this study including selenium and zinc. However, both of these minerals have been shown to be deficient in many populations living in developed nations (here). Although this data was taken from food tables using dietary recall questionnaires, rather than via direct analysis, there is no reason to suggest that the results are not valid because they support a growing body of evidence that shows low micronutrient intakes in those who consume Western foods. Direct analysis of the nutritional content would have provided a more detailed and valid measurement of nutritional vitamin and mineral intakes. However, this sort of direct analysis is not suited to such large sample sizes. Studies such as these explain the high rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer in Western nation.
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