World Food Day 2023 - Promoting Health and Sustainable Nutrition
Published in Public Health
.jpg)
Sandra López Arana is Assistant Professor at the Department of Nutrition at the University of Chile and recently joined the Editorial Board of Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition as Section Editor. In addition, she is a Bernard Lown Scholar in Cardiovascular Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, member of the Transdisciplinary Group of Obesity in Populations (GTOP) at the University of Chile, and associate investigator from the Chilean Center for Cancer Prevention and Control (CECAN). Sandra has carried out several research studies in the field of health and nutrition in low and middle-income countries. Most of her publications have focused on socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity, mother and child health and nutrition, and the unintended consequences of social and nutrition policies such as conditional cash transfer programs in Colombia or the Nutrition Labelling Law 20.606 in Chile. Since 2019 she leads the Limache cohort, an ongoing study that assesses the developmental origins of health and disease in relation to non-communicable disease onset in a country like Chile that has experienced an extremely rapid nutrition transition.
How does your research relate to the SDGs?
Nutrition is a key factor for achieving all the SDGs, so my work is related to several SDGs, specifically with SDG 2: Zero hunger, which seeks to end hunger, achieve food security, transform food systems, and eliminate malnutrition in all its forms. It is also related to SDG 3: Health and Well-being, which seeks to ensure a healthy life and promote well-being from a life course perspective. Finally, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities; Improving nutrition can help gender equality and decrease inequalities in income, food, health and education access avoiding the perpetuation of poverty and poor health among the most disadvantaged.
Why did you decide to go into your field of research?
My research path started before I got my undergraduate degree as Nutritionist and Dietitian. I served as field coordinator of the “Bogota School Children Cohort” study in Bogotá, Colombia. In this job I acquired the skills needed to coordinate the recruitment of 3200 school children, oversee the collection of information and carry out data management and quality assurance within a short period of time. Of course, this work would have not been possible without the continuous supervision of my mentors and principal investigators of this project. They highlighted my dedication to work and enthusiasm for learning more about public health, and I then received their support to carry out postgraduate studies outside of my home country. This combination of my scientific curiosity, along with the guidance of my mentors allowed me to confirm that academia and research were the right path for me.
How has knowledge of global nutrition developed over the course of your career?
As I mentioned above, nutrition is a key factor for achieving all the SDGs. The development of global nutrition has been accelerated over the past two or three decades. Previously, nutrition focused on single nutrient deficiencies, and it did not consider encompassing nutrition within a food system. Likewise, there is increasing awareness to promote more sustainable dietary patterns that may be beneficial for human beings and the earth.
What nutritional challenges do those from low- and middle-income countries in particular face?
Low- and middle-income countries are facing malnutrition in all its forms. Previous evidence has documented a higher prevalence of wasting, stunting, underweight and micronutrient deficiencies in these countries. Nowadays, low- and middle-income countries are also experiencing growing rates of overweight and obesity at the same time. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic, social conflicts, and economic shocks and disasters linked to climate change have exacerbated these trends. For example, the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the world reports an increase of 122 million people facing hunger compared to 2019. On the other hand, the World Obesity Atlas shows that no country has reported a decline in obesity prevalence since 2010 and it is estimated that over 4 billion people may have excess weight by 2035. If this adverse situation continues, there is a low likelihood to achieve the SDGs. Therefore, a major commitment from everyone is needed to implement strategies to address the major drivers that are associated with malnutrition in all its forms.
What are your hopes for progress in the future?
I hope that we (governments, academia, private sector, and civil society) can work together to accelerate the implementation of strategies to end hunger and to reduce malnutrition in all its forms. Some strategies should be to promote healthy and sustainable diets, to empower individuals, families, and communities to make informed choices regarding their diet, and to ensure a more equitable food system that guarantees access to nutritious and affordable foods. Finally, for this World Food Day we should be more conscious that water is an essential resource, so adopting more sustainable food production systems and equitable water distribution is needed.
Happy World Food Day!
Before joining Springer Nature in 2021, Tamara completed an MBio in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Warwick and now manages a portfolio of fully open access journals focused on women's health and implementation science. In addition, she chairs the Springer Nature SDG3 (Good Health and Well-Being) working group.
Follow the Topic
-
Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
This journal brings together research on all aspects of issues related to population, nutrition, and health. The journal publishes articles across a broad range of topics including global health, maternal and child health, nutrition, common illnesses, and determinants of population health.
Related Collections
With Collections, you can get published faster and increase your visibility.
Food Security
Food security remains a central pillar of global health, population dynamics, and nutritional well-being, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where structural inequities, environmental pressures, and economic instability intersect. This Collection aims to advance interdisciplinary understanding of food and nutrition security as both a determinant and outcome of health, recognizing its multidimensional nature that spans food availability, access, utilization, and system stability. We seek contributions that illuminate how food systems, nutrition, and population health converge to shape outcomes across diverse settings, with particular relevance to maternal, child, adolescent, and other vulnerable populations.
Recent global evidence highlights the persistence of food insecurity despite gains in agricultural production, with hundreds of millions still unable to access sufficient and nutritious diets and billions unable to afford healthy food. Economic shocks, rising food prices, and climate-related disruptions continue to strain food security and dietary quality, particularly for vulnerable populations. At the same time, changing dietary patterns, urbanization, and the nutrition transition are reshaping health risks, contributing to the dual burden of undernutrition and non-communicable diseases. Increasingly, research points to the need for systems-based approaches that integrate agriculture, nutrition, public health, and socio-economic factors in order to address these challenges effectively.
Building on these developments, this Collection will explore innovative, context-specific approaches to improving food and nutrition security, with particular attention to regions facing climate vulnerability and rapid demographic change. Insights from policy and implementation highlight the importance of governance, local adaptation, and resilience in strengthening food and nutrition systems. There is also growing interest in new intervention models, ranging from improved complementary feeding strategies to the application of digital tools across food supply chains, which have the potential to influence nutritional outcomes across the life course.
The Collection welcomes a broad range of methodological approaches, including primary research studies, secondary data analyses, demographic and population-based studies (including analyses using DHS and related datasets), intervention evaluations, implementation research, policy analyses, and systematic evidence syntheses. Submissions may focus on individuals, households, communities, or populations, provided they contribute meaningful insights into the determinants, consequences, or solutions related to food and nutrition security.
Continued research in this field can help refine how food systems are designed, managed, and evaluated in diverse contexts. As global scientific and policy discussions increasingly focus on sustainable agriculture, food system resilience, and innovation, there is a clear need for evidence that connects disciplines and informs practical decision-making. Future work should emphasize approaches that are scalable, context-sensitive, and responsive to inequalities in food security, while also supporting long-term nutritional and health outcomes.
In this Collection, we invite submissions covering a range of topics, including but not limited to:
- Determinants and measurement of food and nutrition security
- Food systems transformation, resilience, climate vulnerability, and sustainability
- Nutrition-sensitive interventions and dietary patterns
- Climate change, environmental stressors, and food security
- Urban and peri-urban food security dynamics
- Policy, governance, and economic drivers of food security
- Innovations in food technology, digital agriculture, and nutrition science
This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
All submissions in this collection undergo the journal’s standard peer review process. Similarly, all manuscripts authored by a Guest Editor(s) will be handled by the Editor-in-Chief. As an open access publication, this journal levies an article processing fee (details here). We recognize that many key stakeholders may not have access to such resources and are committed to supporting participation in this issue wherever resources are a barrier. For more information about what support may be available, please visit OA funding and support, or email OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com or the Editor-in-Chief.
Publishing Model: Open Access
Deadline: Jun 29, 2027
Life Course Mental Health and Behavioral Health Promotion: Trajectories, Contexts and Interventions
This Collection adopts a life course perspective to examine how mental health and behavioral health evolve across childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older age, and how health promotion efforts can mitigate risks and enhance resilience. It recognizes that psychological well-being and health-related behaviors such as physical activity, dietary patterns, substance use, sleep, and stress management are shaped by early-life experiences, social environments, and critical transitions including school entry, employment, parenthood, and retirement.
The Collection welcomes longitudinal studies exploring the origins and progression of common mental disorders, the interplay between behavior and mental health, and the mediating roles of neurobiological, psychosocial, and structural factors. Special emphasis is placed on interventions and policies that promote positive mental health and healthy behaviors across diverse populations, including children and adolescents, working-age adults, older people, ethnic minorities, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.
We encourage submissions of original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, quasi-experimental designs, implementation science, qualitative studies, and cross-national comparisons. By bridging epidemiology, prevention science, psychology, and public health, this Collection aims to generate actionable evidence for fostering mentally healthier societies and reducing inequalities in behavioral risk over the entire life span.
This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.
All submissions in this collection undergo the journal’s standard peer review process. Similarly, all manuscripts authored by a Guest Editor(s) will be handled by the Editor-in-Chief. As an open access publication, this journal levies an article processing fee (details here). We recognize that many key stakeholders may not have access to such resources and are committed to supporting participation in this issue wherever resources are a barrier. For more information about what support may be available, please visit OA funding and support, or email OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com or the Editor-in-Chief.
Publishing Model: Open Access
Deadline: Jun 29, 2027
