Global dietary convergence from 1970 to 2010, despite inequality in agriculture, leaves undernutrition concentrated in a few countries

Abstract

Humans globally have similar nutritional needs but face large differences in natural resource endowments and local food production. This study quantifies food system inequality across countries based on natural resource inputs, food/nutrient outputs, and nutrition/health outcomes, from 1970 to 2010. Animal source foods and overweight/obesity show rapid convergence while availability of selected micronutrients demonstrate slower convergence. However, all variables are more equally distributed than national income per capita, whose Gini coefficient declined from 0·71 to 0·65. Inequalities in total and animal-source dietary energy declined from 0·16 to 0·10 and 0·55 to 0·36, respectively. There was convergence in overweight/obesity prevalence from 0·39 to 0·27, while undernutrition and stunting became increasingly concentrated in a few high-burden countries. Characterizing cross-country inequalities in agricultural resources, foods, nutrients, and health can help identify critical opportunities for agriculture and food policies, as well as prioritize research objectives and funding allocation for the coming decade.