Nutrition Science → ← Policy Contribution of Nutrition to the Health Transition in Developing Countries: A Framework for Research and Intervention

The major focus of public health programs in de-veloping populations is alleviating undernutrition. In South Africa, however, as in many other devel-oping countries, the African population is experi-encing rapid urbanization characterized by a double burden of disease in which noncommuni-cable diseases (NCD) become more prevalent and infectious diseases remain undefeated. The possible mechanisms through which nutrition contributes to the additional vulnerability to NCD experienced by developing populations are ex-plored, and research priorities in this area are iden-tified. The global health transition,1 also referred to as the epide-miologic transition,2 can be defined as the complex change