Table of Contents

• Problem Statement
• Datasets
• Exploratory Questions

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Problem Statement

Nutritional habits are deeply linked to public health outcomes, particularly obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Over the past 50 years, globalization and industrialization of food production have changed how and what we eat. Using global nutrition datasets (FAO, USDA) and health outcome statistics, this project will investigate:

• How diets are shifting globally.
• Which countries face the fastest growth in obesity.
• How dietary diversity, food affordability, and economic status shape nutritional health.

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Datasets Links

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): FAOSTAT - Food Balances and Population Data
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): ERS - Obesity Statistics

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Exploratory Questions

1. Which countries consume the highest levels of sugar, fat, protein, and fiber? Are there regional patterns (e.g., Western diets vs. Asian diets)?

2. How do obesity and diabetes rates correlate with national dietary consumption patterns?

3. Are global diets becoming more homogenous (same foods across cultures), or do distinct regional diets persist?

4. Which food groups (processed foods, dairy, cereals, fruits/vegetables) have changed most in consumption over the past 50 years?

5. Does income predict not just calorie intake but also quality (nutritional diversity, balance between processed and fresh foods)?

6. Aggregate the consumption level of nutrients on yearly granularity for each country and divide it by the total population of each country for the respective year, this gives you the relative consumption rate per capita per nutrient per country per year. Now using this data, create an interactive bar plot which allows users to select a country and a nutrient, which then displays the consumption level of said nutrients across years for the selected country.

7. Perform predictive and descriptive analysis using this data and any other sources you deem necessary. Mention your analysis philosophy, design and methodology alongside the findings of your analysis.