Study: People Not Consuming Enough Micronutrients Critical to Health

A new study finds humans are not consuming enough of the micronutrients essential to health. The research from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, University of California Santa Barbara and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is the first of its kind to provide insight of the inadequacy consumption of 15 micronutrients critical to human health.

Using data from the Global Dietary Database, the World Bank and dietary recall surveys in 31 countries, researchers divided populations of 185 countries by gender and age. They looked at 15 vitamins and minerals: calcium, iodine, iron, riboflavin, folate, zinc, magnesium, selenium, thiamin, niacin, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and E. 

Insufficient Micronutrients

The study found inadequate consumption of the evaluated micronutrients across all categories. This excluded fortification as a potential source of additional nutrients. Inadequate intakes were higher for women than men for iodine, vitamin B12 and iron. On the other hand, men consumed less calcium, niacin, zinc and magnesium than women.

Overall, researchers found men and women ages 10-30 years old were more prone to low levels of calcium intake. They found this was especially true in South and East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Calcium intake was also low across North America, Europe and Central Asia.

“These results are alarming,” said Ty Beal, senior technical specialist at GAIN. “Most people—even more than previously thought, across all regions and countries of all incomes—are not consuming enough of multiple essential micronutrients. These gaps compromise health outcomes and limit human potential on a global scale.”

Micronutrient deficiency can lead to severe health consequences such as adverse pregnancy outcomes, blindness and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases.

“The public health challenge facing us is immense, but practitioners and policymakers have the opportunity to identify the most effective dietary interventions and target them to the populations most in need,” added senior author of the study Christopher Golden, associate professor of nutrition and planetary health at Harvard Chan School.

This study was published in the Lancet Global Health in August 2024.

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