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International Approaches (international + approach)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%
Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Current International Approaches to Food Claims

NUTRITION REVIEWS, Issue 12 2000
No-Seong Kwak Ph.D.
The market for functional foods is rapidly increasing. It is necessary to establish a legal framework for these foods. This has proved difficult in a number of countries. The control through health claims is generally accepted as the most appropriate measure. Activity in this area has been developing both at the national and international levels. However, the regulations and proposals from a number of national authorities and other nongovernmental sectors are varied and difficult to reconcile. This paper examines the range of health claim controls being used in the food area. They are considered in detail so as to establish a better understanding of the claims. In this paper, the claims have been classified into six categories: nutrient content claims, comparative claims, nutrient function claims, claims related to dietary guidelines or healthy diets, enhanced function claims, and reduction of disease risk claims. Of these, the latter four claims are considered to have significant implications for functional foods. [source]

The Politics of Perception: Use and Abuse of Transparency International's Approach to Measuring Corruption

POLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2009
Staffan Andersson
The annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published by Transparency International (TI), has had a pivotal role in focusing attention on corruption. Despite recent critiques of the CPI, it remains highly influential on research into the causes of corruption and is also extensively used to galvanise support for measures to fight corruption. In this article we explore the CPI in more depth in order to highlight how the index has been used for political ends which may not always turn out to be supportive of anti-corruption efforts. The argument is developed in four sections: in the first, we focus on Transparency International's definition of corruption, highlighting some conceptual difficulties with the approach adopted and its relationship to the promotion of ,good governance' as the principal means of combating corruption. In the second section, we outline some methodological difficulties in the design of the Corruption Perceptions Index. Although the CPI has been much criticised, we demonstrate in the third section that the index continues to exercise great influence both in academic research and in the politics of anti-corruption efforts, particularly as exercised by Transparency International itself. In the final section we argue that the CPI contributes to the risk of creating a ,corruption trap' in countries where corruption is deeply embedded, as development aid is increasingly made conditional on the implementation of reforms which are impossible to achieve without that aid. [source]

Assessment of obesity in children and adolescents: synthesis of recent systematic reviews and clinical guidelines

JOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 3 2010
J. J. Reilly
Abstract This review summarises recent systematic reviews and evidence-based guidelines that deal with the issue of how best to diagnose or define obesity in children and adolescents. A recent systematic review showed that parents typically fail to recognise obesity in their children and adolescents, and a good deal of other evidence suggests that health professionals under-diagnose obesity in children and adolescents when using informal methods based on observation. There is therefore a need for practical, objective, methods that both identify the fattest children and adolescents adequately, and identify those who are at greatest risk of the ,co-morbidities' of obesity. A large body of consistent evidence shows that a high body mass index (BMI) for age and sex identifies the fattest children adequately, with low,moderate false negative rate and a low false positive rate. Furthermore, children and adolescents at high BMI for age are at much greater risk of the co-morbidities of obesity. A recent systematic review found that the use of BMI for age with national reference data and cut-off points (such as the 95th percentile to define obesity) was superior to the Cole,International Obesity Task Force international approach for defining obesity based on BMI for age. The same systematic review also found no evidence that use of waist circumference for age improved the diagnosis of obesity, or the cardio-metabolic co-morbidities of obesity, in children and adolescents. Recent systematic reviews are therefore supportive of current guidelines that recommend percentile-based cut-offs relative to national reference data to (e.g. BMI at or above the 95th or 98th percentile in the UK) to define obesity for clinical applications in children and adolescents. [source]

The Korean Peninsula Peace Regime: How to Build It

PACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 1 2009
Tae-Hwan Kwak
A Korean peninsula peace regime has not yet been established, over a half century since the Korean armistice agreement. Two approaches to a Korean peninsula peace-regime-building process are required: inter-Korean and international approaches. The two Koreas should play leading roles at the inter-Korean and international levels in inter-Korean confidence-building measures by reducing tension through reconciliation and economic cooperation. A Korean peace forum involving the USA, China and the two Koreas under the 19 September joint agreement could conclude a Korean peninsula peace treaty to replace the armistice agreement and a peace regime could be institutionalized by implementing the inter-Korean basic agreement (1992) through inter-Korean cooperation. This article proposes a comprehensive, long-term roadmap for the Korean peninsula peace-regime-building process. The author makes three major arguments. First, the two Koreas and the four powers need to agree on a comprehensive roadmap for the Korean peninsula peace-regime-building process as suggested here. The inter-Korean and international approaches to the peace-regime-building process should be considered in parallel. Second, the North Korean nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through the Six-Party Talks. Third, the two Koreas need to work together to find an alternative to their respective proposals. The author proposes a Korean peninsula peace treaty signed by the ROK, the DPRK, the USA and China as an alternative. Unless the two Koreas demonstrate their desire to cooperate through sincere deeds by implementing inter-Korean agreements and are willing to make concessions by working together for establishing a peace regime in Korea, there is little chance of achieving this goal. [source]