Abstract
Years 2016-2025 were declared to be the “United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition”. Vitamins can play important roles in both prevention of deficiency diseases in developing countries and disease risk reduction in developed countries.
Universal health coverage (UHC) is a key component of sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) both in developing and developed countries. Japan is an advanced country regarding UHC, which is responsible for the longevity. Much budget is needed, however, for maintaining and advancing UHC. Treatment by expensive drugs is justified to those with high disease risk, but not to those with low to intermediate risk. For such populations, primary prevention through nutritional improvement and exercise is the solution. Another benefit of nutritional intervention is that this intervention can decrease the risk for various diseases unlike the drug treatment. Thus, vitamins can play important roles both in developing and developed countries at low cost, which coincides with the concept of UHC and SDGs.
In conclusion, vitamins can promote health and contribute to the disease prevention worldwide and performing the clinical and epidemiological studies on the role of vitamins and publicizing the role of vitamins to the citizens and Government are needed. (193 words)
