[To the health of the nation through multi-level educational programs for the population in the field of optimal nutrition].

Healthy nutrition is the most crucial component of the quality of life, which is understood as an integral indicator of mental, physical and social functioning of a person. The diet of Russians doesn't contain enough vegetables and fruits, dairy products, while white sugar, salt, products containing animal fat, and trans fats are in excess. Violations of the structure of nutrition and nutritional status lead to the development of diet related non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular, oncological, diabetes mellitus, obesity, gout, osteoporosis, etc.) that are the leading causes of mortality of the population. All this indicates a low level of knowledge of the people about the principles of healthy nutrition. 49.2% of Russians have almost no idea about the rules of healthy eating. In this regard, it is essential to eliminate the existing gap in the education of the population on healthy nutrition through the introduction of training programs. For this purpose, training (educational) programs on healthy eating have been developed for target groups of the population (preschool and school-age children; adults of all ages, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, people older than working age; people with an increased level of physical activity; persons working in severe and harmful conditions or living in territories with unique features in terms of the impact of environmental factors). Based on scientific institutions of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing and Federal Research Centre for Nutrition, Biotechnology and Food Safety, four scientific-methodical centres and one educational centre on the issues of healthy nutrition have been created for the development of training (education) programs. A great deal of work on the implementation of educational programs for the population on healthy nutrition is carried out by the Profile Commission on Dietetics of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, which includes the chief dietitians of Federal districts of the Russian Federation.