In the long history of recommendations for nutritional intake, current research is trending toward the concept of 'food as medicine' -- a philosophy in which food and nutrition are positioned within interventions to support health and wellness.
"Couple with the amount and pattern of the foods people eat, the primary macronutrients of protein, carbohydrates and fat can shape the major determinates of health throughout the lifespan," said Dr. Heymsfield, who is a professor of Metabolism & Body Composition at Pennington Biomedical.
The need to incorporate the three main macronutrient groups and micronutrients into the diets of the various life stage groups is a matrix that is further complicated as varying financial resources, personal preferences, cultural backgrounds and ethnic food traditions are accounted for. The paper structures a priority framework, offering better insights into those diets that can be tailored for specific diet-related chronic conditions, such as obesity or type 2 diabetes.