Geography terms in Food and health

A barrier that halts diffusion completely, so that the phenomenon cannot pass beyond it.

The share of a population using facilities that hygienically separate excreta from human contact, measured on the WHO/UNICEF ladder from open defecation to safely managed services.

The stage in diffusion at which a person, household or place takes up an innovation or, for a disease, becomes infected (acquisition).

An S-shaped graph of the cumulative percentage of adopters of an innovation over time, rising slowly, then rapidly, then levelling off at saturation.

Large-scale commercial farming and the businesses linked to it, including firms that supply seeds, agrochemicals and machinery and those that trade, process, manufacture and sell food.

A situation in which a country, region or community relies on aid to meet basic needs over a long period, so that its own production, markets and institutions are weakened or fail to develop.

The ability of bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites to survive drugs that once killed them, so that infections become harder or impossible to treat.

Any physical, economic, political, cultural or informational obstacle that slows or prevents the spread of an innovation, idea or disease.

The average number of people to whom one infected person passes a disease in a population where nobody is immune and no control measures are taken.

The breeding of food crops, by conventional methods or genetic engineering, so that they contain more vitamins or minerals as they grow.

The part of a water footprint made up of surface water or groundwater withdrawn, for example for irrigation, and not returned to the source it came from.

A measure of body weight relative to height, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres; for adults 25 or more is overweight and 30 or more obese.

A genetically modified crop containing a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that makes it produce a protein toxic to certain insect pests, such as bollworms in cotton.

The proportion of people diagnosed with a disease who die from it, usually expressed as a percentage.

A payment of money from a government or aid agency directly to poor or vulnerable households, given either unconditionally or on conditions such as school attendance or clinic visits.

An acute diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, spread through food or water contaminated with faeces, which can kill through dehydration within hours.

A theory that live, round-the-clock television and online news coverage of a crisis influences governments’ decisions, for example by creating public pressure to send aid.

Farming in which crops or livestock are produced mainly for sale, with the aim of making a profit.

An illness caused by a pathogen such as a bacterium, virus or parasite that can pass between people or animals, directly or through water, food, air or a vector.

A member of a community, given basic training, who provides health education, preventive care, simple treatment and referrals in that community, often where doctors are scarce.

Expansion diffusion through direct contact between people or neighbouring places, so that spread is strongly affected by distance from the hearth.

An arrangement in which a buyer, usually a company, agrees in advance to purchase a farmer’s produce at an agreed price, quantity and quality, often supplying inputs and advice in return.

An international initiative led by Gavi, CEPI and the WHO, with UNICEF, to buy and distribute COVID-19 vaccines fairly to all countries, especially low- and middle-income countries.

The average amount of food energy available for human consumption in a country, in kilocalories per person per day, calculated from national food balance sheets.

The spread of a phenomenon, such as an innovation, an idea or a disease, from its place of origin across space and over time.

A measure of the burden of disease in which one unit is one year of healthy life lost, through premature death or through years lived with illness or disability.

The total impact of disease and injury on a population, measured by deaths and, more fully, by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost.

The range of diseases arranged from diseases of poverty, which dominate where living conditions are poor, to diseases of affluence, which grow as incomes and lifespans rise.

Measures that stop a disease from occurring or spreading, such as vaccination, clean water and sanitation, bednets, health education, screening and the regulation of tobacco and food.

Medical care that cures or controls a disease after a person has become ill, such as drugs, oral rehydration, surgery and hospital care.

Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and many cancers, which become more common as incomes rise, diets change, activity falls and people live longer.

Diseases most common among people in low-income conditions, mainly communicable diseases such as diarrhoea, TB, malaria and HIV, plus undernutrition and maternal conditions.

A decline in the willingness of governments and the public to give aid, usually during a long or repeated crisis, which leads to falling funds even when needs remain high.

A situation in which a population has high levels of communicable disease at the same time as rising levels of non-communicable disease.

The coexistence of undernutrition, including micronutrient deficiency, with overweight, obesity or diet-related diseases in the same population, household or individual.

Describing a disease that is constantly present in a particular population or region at a fairly stable, expected level.

The food energy produced by a farming system divided by the energy put into it from labour, animals and fossil fuels; a value above 1 means more energy is produced than used.

A theory, set out by Amartya Sen in 1981, that famines happen when groups of people lose their ability to obtain food through production, wages, trade or transfers, not only when total food supply falls.

A sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease well above the level normally expected in a population or area.

A model (Omran, 1971) of the long-term shift in a population’s main causes of death from communicable diseases, famine and malnutrition to non-communicable diseases as development proceeds.

The number of deaths from all causes in a period above the number expected from previous years, used to estimate the full death toll of a crisis.

Diffusion in which a phenomenon spreads to new areas while remaining present in its place of origin, so that the total area or number affected grows.

Farming that uses low inputs of labour and capital per unit of land over large areas, producing low yields per hectare.

An extreme food crisis in an area where at least 20% of households face an extreme lack of food, over 30% of children are acutely malnourished and over two people per 10,000 die each day (IPC Phase 5).

A type of agriculture defined by its combination of inputs, processes and outputs, such as subsistence or commercial, intensive or extensive, and arable, pastoral or mixed farming.

Food provided free or at reduced cost to people or countries that cannot produce or buy enough, given either in kind as food or as cash or vouchers to buy it.

The United Nations agency, founded in 1945 and based in Rome, that leads international efforts against hunger by collecting food data, giving early warning and technical advice, and setting food standards.

An FAO survey-based measure of the severity of food insecurity, built from eight questions to individuals about their experiences of limited access to food over the previous 12 months.

The decrease in the quantity or quality of food between harvest and the retail stage, for example through pests, spoilage in storage or damage in transport.

Any activity that promotes a food or drink product to consumers, including advertising, sponsorship, packaging, price promotions, social-media content and product placement.

The distance food travels from where it is produced to where it is consumed, used as a rough indicator of the environmental impact of transporting food.

Food that is discarded or left uneaten at the retail, food service or household stage, even though it was fit to eat.

The addition of vitamins or minerals, such as iodine, iron, folic acid or vitamin A, to food during processing to prevent micronutrient deficiencies.

Simple nutrition information, such as warning symbols or traffic-light colours, printed on the front of food packaging to show consumers which products are high in sugar, salt, fat or calories.

The difference between women and men farmers in access to land, credit, inputs, technology, advice and markets, and the resulting difference in their yields and incomes.

A technique, such as CRISPR, that changes an organism’s DNA at a precise location, usually by altering or switching off existing genes rather than adding genes from another species.

A plant, animal or micro-organism whose genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering, for example by inserting a gene from another species, to give it a new trait.

A composite index by Economist Impact scoring the food security of 113 countries from 0 to 100 (higher is better) on affordability, availability, quality and safety, and sustainability and adaptation.

A composite index measuring hunger in a country on a 0–100 scale, where lower is better, by combining undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and under-five mortality.

The adaptation of a global product, service or brand to local cultures, tastes, religions and regulations so that it sells in many different places.

A variety of rice genetically modified to produce beta-carotene, a source of vitamin A, intended to reduce vitamin A deficiency where rice is the staple food.

The part of a water footprint made up of rainwater stored in the soil and used by plants, then lost through evapotranspiration.

The part of a water footprint equal to the volume of freshwater needed to dilute the pollutants released in making a product to an agreed water quality standard.

A model (1953) in which an innovation spreads outward from an innovation centre through primary, diffusion, condensing and saturation stages, mainly by personal contact, declining with distance.

A measurable characteristic of a population, such as life expectancy, infant mortality or doctors per person, used to describe its health or the factors that influence it.

The average number of years a person can expect to live in full health, after allowing for years lived in less than full health because of disease or injury; the WHO’s measure.

The place where a phenomenon, such as an innovation or a disease, originates and from which it diffuses; the source of diffusion.

Indirect protection from an infectious disease that occurs when a large enough share of a population is immune, through vaccination or previous infection, that the disease cannot spread easily.

Expansion diffusion through an ordered sequence of places or people, typically from large, well-connected cities or influential groups down to smaller places.

A crop variety bred to give much larger yields per hectare than traditional varieties, usually when supplied with enough water, fertiliser and pesticide.

Short-term assistance given in an emergency such as a war, disaster or famine to save lives and relieve suffering, including food, water, shelter, medical care and protection.

A method of growing plants without soil, with their roots in water containing dissolved mineral nutrients.

Meat produced by growing animal cells in a nutrient medium in bioreactors instead of raising and slaughtering animals; also called cultivated or cultured meat.

The number of new cases of a disease in a population during a given period, often expressed per 1,000 or per 100,000 people per year.

The time between a person being infected with a pathogen and the appearance of the first symptoms of the disease.

An overabundance of information, both accurate and false, that spreads rapidly during an epidemic or other crisis and makes it difficult for people to find trustworthy guidance.

A standardised five-phase scale, from Minimal (Phase 1) to Catastrophe or Famine (Phase 5), used by governments and agencies to classify the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition.

Farming that uses high inputs of labour, capital, fertiliser or technology per unit of land to obtain high yields from a relatively small area.

A legally binding agreement, revised in 2005, under which states must detect, assess and report to the WHO any public health event that could spread across borders, and respond to it proportionately.

The way food is shared among members of the same household, which can be unequal by gender, age or status, so that some members are undernourished even when the household has enough food.

A vector-borne disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and spread to humans by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, causing fever, anaemia and, if untreated, death.

Deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy or nutrients, covering undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency and overnutrition (overweight and obesity).

The number of women who die from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth, during pregnancy or within 42 days of its end, per 100,000 live births in a year.

A lack of one or more vitamins or minerals, such as iron, vitamin A, iodine or zinc, that the body needs in small amounts; it can occur in people who eat enough calories.

The food energy, in kilocalories per day, a person needs for light physical activity and a minimum acceptable body weight for their height; typically about 1,800 kcal averaged over a population.

The shortfall in the number of women and girls in a population compared with the number expected if they had received the same nutrition, health care and survival chances as men and boys.

The presence of two or more long-term health conditions in the same person at the same time, such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis; it becomes more common with age.

The tendency for people to adopt an innovation, or acquire a disease, after contact with nearby people who already have it, so that diffusion reaches nearby places first.

A disease that is not passed from person to person, usually chronic and slow to develop, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease or type 2 diabetes.

A measure of the quantity or quality of food available to or eaten by a population, or of its nutritional status, such as calories per person, undernourishment or child stunting.

Excessive accumulation of body fat that harms health, defined for adults as a body mass index of 30 or more.

The disposal of human faeces in fields, bushes, open water, beaches or other open spaces, or with solid waste; the lowest rung of the sanitation ladder.

A form of malnutrition in which energy intake exceeds energy use over a long period, leading to overweight and obesity and a higher risk of non-communicable diseases.

An epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, such as several countries or continents, and affects a large number of people.

A microorganism, such as a virus, bacterium, protozoan or fungus, that causes disease in the organism it infects.

A barrier that slows or weakens diffusion but allows part of the phenomenon to pass through.

An input indicator of health care: the number of medical doctors, generalist and specialist, per 1,000 people in a country (published by the WHO per 10,000 people).

The total number or proportion of people in a population who have a disease at a particular time, including both new and existing cases.

Ethiopia’s social protection programme, begun in 2005, that gives cash or food to chronically food-insecure households in return for work on public projects, with unconditional support for those unable to work.

A formal declaration by the WHO, under the International Health Regulations, that an extraordinary disease event is a risk to other states through international spread and may need a coordinated response.

Diffusion in which a phenomenon is carried to a new area by people who migrate or travel, so that it may leave or weaken in its place of origin.

Public policies and programmes that protect people from poverty and from shocks such as illness, drought or price rises, for example pensions, school meals, food rations and cash transfers.

Negative attitudes and discrimination directed at a person or group because of a characteristic, such as an illness, which can stop people seeking prevention or treatment.

Low height for age in a child, more than two standard deviations below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards; an indicator of chronic undernutrition.

Farming in which most of the food produced is eaten by the farmer’s household, with little or no surplus left for sale.

A tax on sugar-sweetened drinks or high-sugar foods that aims to reduce sugar consumption and related diseases by raising prices and encouraging manufacturers to cut sugar content.

Increasing food production from existing farmland while reducing its environmental impacts, for example through better soil and water management, improved varieties and integrated pest management.

A method of studying a farm or food chain as an open system of inputs, stores, transfers and outputs, so that flows of energy, water and materials can be measured and compared between places.

An industrially manufactured food or drink made mainly from substances extracted from foods and from additives, such as soft drinks, packaged snacks and instant noodles, as defined by the NOVA classification.

The number of children who die before reaching the age of five, per 1,000 live births in a given year.

A form of malnutrition caused by too little energy, protein or nutrients, often combined with infection; measured in children by stunting, wasting and underweight.

Low weight for age in a child, more than two standard deviations below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards; in adults, a body mass index below 18.5.

A situation in which all people can use the quality health services they need, from prevention to treatment and rehabilitation, without suffering financial hardship from paying for them.

The giving of a vaccine, a preparation of a weakened, killed or partial pathogen or its genetic code, to stimulate the immune system to protect a person against a disease.

A policy in which governments secure vaccines for their own populations first, for example by buying most early supplies or restricting exports, at the expense of fair access for other countries.

A living organism, usually an insect such as a mosquito or tick, that carries a pathogen from one host to another.

The growing of crops indoors in vertically stacked layers under artificial light, with controlled temperature, humidity and nutrients, usually using hydroponics or aeroponics.

Low weight for height in a child, more than two standard deviations below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards; an indicator of acute undernutrition or recent weight loss.

A disease caused by pathogens transmitted through water contaminated with human or animal faeces, usually by drinking it or preparing food with it, such as cholera and typhoid.

The United Nations agency, founded in 1961 and based in Rome, that provides emergency food assistance, logistics for humanitarian operations, school meals and resilience programmes for people facing hunger.

The United Nations agency, founded in 1948 and based in Geneva, that directs and coordinates international health work, sets health standards and guidelines, and supports countries in controlling disease.