Pan Wen-Harn, Hsieh Yao-Te, Wahlqvist Mark L
Division of Epidemiology and Genetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2009;18(4):642-6.
People rely on foods to provide energy and nutrients to sustain life and to ensure health. In the entire chain from acquiring foods to ingesting them, women contribute in unique ways to the food system. Although foods or nutrients requirements for both sexes are biologically similar in many aspects, women go through more complex life-cycles than men and may experience greater risk of nutrient deprivation due to their role to bear and to rear off-spring. Therefore, women and their offspring are particularly vulnerable to food scarcity and to poor dietary quality. On the other hand, the female genome, partly through sex hormones delays the development of many chronic diseases which result from the modern affluent lifestyle. The inherent biological roles of men and women and their socially constructed roles may interact with one another, affecting the health security of each gender, their families, and the well-being of the societies in which they live. Historically and contemporarily, women in general are socially and politically more underprivileged than men. The inequality which women have faced has jeopardized not only their health and that of their female children, but the well-being of all. In developed countries and in more and more developing countries, equal opportunities for education are promoted. Recent research indicates that women have a greater tendency than men to engage in healthy behaviours when empowered with health knowledge. Risky health-related behaviours, including poor food choices, are more often practiced by men and warrant more public health attention.
人们依靠食物来提供能量和营养，以维持生命并确保健康。在从获取食物到摄入食物的整个链条中，女性以独特的方式为食物系统做出贡献。尽管男女在食物或营养需求的许多方面在生物学上相似，但女性经历的生命周期比男性更为复杂，并且由于其生育和抚养后代的角色，可能面临更大的营养缺乏风险。因此，女性及其后代特别容易受到食物短缺和不良饮食质量的影响。另一方面，女性基因组部分通过性激素延缓了许多因现代富裕生活方式导致的慢性疾病的发展。男性和女性的固有生物学角色及其社会建构的角色可能相互作用，影响每个性别的健康安全、他们的家庭以及他们所生活社会的福祉。从历史到现在，总体而言，女性在社会和政治上比男性更加弱势。女性所面临的不平等不仅危及她们自己和女童的健康，也危及所有人的福祉。在发达国家以及越来越多的发展中国家，教育机会平等得到了推动。最近的研究表明，当获得健康知识时，女性比男性更倾向于采取健康行为。包括不良食物选择在内的与健康相关的危险行为更多地由男性实施，值得更多公共卫生关注。
