BMC Gastroenterology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Malnutrition and food security. Malnutrition encompasses both undernutrition and overnutrition, leading to a range of health complications, while lack of food security contributes to inadequate access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. This Collection aims to gather research that addresses the multifaceted challenges of malnutrition and food security, including their impact on gastrointestinal health, nutritional therapy, and public health nutrition.
Advancing our collective understanding in this area is crucial for developing effective interventions and policies to address malnutrition and ensure food security. Recent advances have highlighted the complex interplay between nutritional deficiencies, gastrointestinal disorders, and challenges to food security, emphasizing the need for comprehensive approaches that consider social, economic, and health-related factors. Additionally, research has underscored the importance of preventative nutrition and the role of nutritional guidelines in promoting digestive health and overall well-being.
Specifically, the use of certain nutritional supplements has been suggested to be beneficial in this regard. In particular, the role of gut microbiota-modifying compounds - such as prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics - has gained increasing recognition for their potential to enhance gut health and overall well-being. These compounds can significantly influence the microbiome, which, in turn, affects nutrient absorption, immune function, and the management of gastrointestinal disorders. Understanding these relationships is essential for exploring potential interventions to improve gut health.
Continued research in this area holds the potential for developing innovative nutritional assessment tools, personalized nutritional therapy approaches, and strategies to improve nutrient absorption and utilization. Furthermore, ongoing research efforts may lead to the identification of effective public health interventions to address malnutrition and guarantee food security, particularly in vulnerable populations and low-resource settings.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Impact of malnutrition on gastrointestinal health
- Nutritional therapy and gastrointestinal disorders
- Food security and public health nutrition
- Preventative nutrition and nutritional guidelines
- Innovative nutritional assessment tools
- Personalized nutritional therapy approaches
- Strategies to improve nutrient absorption and utilization
- The role of specific nutritional supplements in enhancing nutrient absorption, immune function, and managing gastrointestinal disorders.
- The effects of gut microbiota-modifying compounds (prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics) on gut health and their influence on nutrient absorption and the management of gastrointestinal disorders.
- Effective public health interventions for vulnerable populations
- Malnutrition in low-resource settings
- The role of social, economic, and health-related factors in malnutrition and food security
This collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
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