The Lebanese population is young, with a relatively high life expectancy at birth (72 years), reflecting a good access to health care and a full access to safe water and sanitation. Most of the health indicators have improved in the past decade.
The country’s economy has been growing steadily since the end of the civil war in 1990, particularly due to the development of the service sector. The current poverty rate is not documented due to the absence of a recent household income and expenditure survey, but previous data and qualitative information suggest high poverty rates are still prevalent in some areas.
The general improvement in the standard of living over the last decades has increased households’ access to affordable traditional varied and energy-dense local foods as well as to a “westernized” type of diet, including fat and salt-rich processed foods. According to some studies among adults, the high intake of fruit and vegetables, a unique feature of the Lebanese diet, goes together with an increase in fat intake which is currently at the higher limit of recommendations. These trends in dietary intake associated with a sedentary lifestyle are the major causes of the emergence of an obesity epidemic.
The nutritional status of the Lebanese population is characterized by a nutrition transition with the persistence of micronutrient deficiencies and chronic malnutrition in young children (stunting), especially in the rural areas, and the emergence of a high prevalence of overweight in all age groups, both in rural and urban areas.

80 km from east to West. It is bounded by Syria on both the North and East, by Israel on the South and by the Mediterranean Sea on the West. From 1975 until the early 1990s, Lebanon was locked in a bitter civil war (WFP, 2005; WB, 2005).
The main agricultural region is a narrow plain running along the seacoast. The inland hosts the Lebanese Mountains’ range, with the country's highest peak, Qurnat-as-Sawda, at 3 083 m. Another range, the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, runs along the country's eastern border. The two mountainous ranges are separated by a fertile valley called the Bekaa, 8 to 16 km wide. The main Lebanese rivers are the Litani, the Nahr Ibrahim and the Orontes.
Most of Lebanon has a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The coastal plain is subtropical, with 900 mm of annual rainfall and a mean temperature of 29°C in summer and 13°C in winter. In the mountains, temperatures are lower and precipitations higher (up to 1 500 mm per year), mainly falling as snow at higher altitude. The Bekaa Valley and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains are situated in the rain shadow of the Lebanon Mountains and have hot, dry summers and cold winters with only occasional rain (FAO, Forestry Division).
Arable land is scarce (17%), but the climate and the relatively abundant water supply from springs favour biodiversity and the intensive cultivation of a variety of crops on mountain slopes, in the Bekaa valley and in the coastal region.
Lebanon has made progress towards rebuilding its institutions since the end of the civil war in 1990 (MDGR, 2003).

The Lebanese population is young, with about 30% under 15 years of age, but the population growth rate is currently decreasing.
In 1999, the major food crops were cereals, fruit, olives and vegetables (MOE, 2001). The 5 major food and agriculture commodities produced in Lebanon in 2002 were potatoes, tomatoes, cow milk, olives and oranges (FAO, Statistics Division). Tomatoes, cow milk and olives were mainly destined to local human consumption; potatoes and oranges were for local consumption and export (FAO, FAOSTAT food balance sheets).
On the irrigated coastal plain, market vegetables, bananas and citrus crops are grown. In the foothills, the main crops are olives, grapes, tobacco, figs, and almonds (MOE, 2001).
Summer, from July until September, is the harvest season for fruit and vegetables. In the autumn, from October till December, there is a de
.4 Economy
Lebanon’s devastating 15 years Civil War (1975-1990) resulted in massive economic, social and structural destruction. In less than a decade impressive progress had been made in reconstructing the country’s infrastructure, restoring public services and recovering per capita income. The progress was fostered by a modern financial sector, a qualified workforce and favourable geographical position (WB, 2005).
Services - mainly commerce, tourism, and the financial sector - represented 68% of the country’s GDP in 2004. Agriculture represented about 13%, while the industrial sector constituted the remaining 19% of GDP.
Lebanon has infrastructure for transportation and communication, including railways, highways, pipelines, airports, harbours and mobile telephone
Education

A high proportion of children are enrolled in the public school system. However, dropouts are still numerous among poor families because of the cost of higher education, of the low occupational and economic return of education, and due to the insufficient number of government schools in poor neighbourhoods. Nevertheless available data show an increase in post-primary school enrolment (especially among girls) and a narrowing of the gender gap in enrolment in general (UNICEF, 2005).
The staple foods are wheat (often consumed as flat bread pita) and rice. Common accompanying foods include meat (usually lamb and chicken) or fish and vegetables, often stuffed. Popular main courses are kebbe - mutton pounded and served with crushed wheat -; chawarma - grilled lamb -; tabbouleh - chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes and cracked hard wheat; fattoush - a blend of seasonal vegetables such as purslane, lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley and mint, combined with pieces of dry pita.
Although most mouhafazat share the same staple foods and main dishes, there are some regional variations in recipes: the North, for example, is known for its kebbe trabolsieh characterized by a high content of ghee whereas in the South most of dishes are rich in rice and meat.
Some differences exist between urban and rural diets. Urban diets are becoming westernized: home- made traditional dishes are progressively replaced by fast-food and snack-foods, with a high content of fat, added sugars and sodium. Urban life has brought a redefinition of roles among families: both husband and wife are now working and this has reduced time available for home preparation of food. Moreover, ready-to-eat food is easily available and cheap.
No data exist on intra-household food distribution or gender issues regarding food consumption patterns in Lebanon.

A unique feature of the Lebanese food supply is the
the first group, in terms of supply and its importance has grown since the mid-80s. Fruit and vegetables are an important part of the Lebanese diet and constitute an abundant source of micronutrients. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the data relate to the supply of these foods and not to actual intake by the population. Cereals are the second most important group. Supplies of animal origin food are also noticeable, especially that of milk and eggs. In contrast, supply of fish and seafood is low considering that the country has access to the sea, although an increase has been recorded since the beginning of the 90’s. Supply of many food groups has increased gradually during the last forty years, as that of starchy foods, meat and offals, sweeteners, pulses, nuts, oilcrops, and vegetable oils.
While the increase in the meat supply contributes to ensuring a diet rich in protein and iron, unfortunately unhealthy processing techniques such as frying are also increasing. Pulses, nuts and oilcrops, which are good sources of protein, are considered as staple foods in Lebanon and are available in poor regions at a reasonable price. The supply of vegetable oil has increased due to a shift in cooking habits from boiling and steaming to frying and to a substitution of animal fats with oil.
Consumption of fruit and vegetables was substantial (mean 367 g/day) but still slightly lower than the recommended level of 400g/day. The consumption of fish, the best source of omega-3 fatty acids, was lower than the recommended two servings per week (WHO/FAO, 2003; Nasreddine et al., 2005).
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD)
Prevalence of sub-clinical and clinical vitamin A deficiency
According to the 2003 MDG progress report, no Vitamin A deficiency has been recorded in Lebanon since 1994 (MDGR, 2003).

II.7 Policies and programmes aiming to improve nutrition and food security
A Nutrition Unit was established in the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) in August 1997, with the support of WHO. The mandate of the unit includes:
•Development of a nutrition strategy based on surveillance of nutrition related diseases.
•Communication and coordination with public and private sectors regarding the prevention of food borne diseases.
•of nutrition education activities, implementation of nutrition education at primary health care level and coordination with the Ministry of Education to integrate safe nutrition habits in the school curriculum.
•Development of national nutritional and food safety guidelines.