Reflections on food and nutrition research

Transcription

1 Reflections on food and nutrition research Disclaimer: The contents of this presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent an official position of the European Commission. European Union, 2013

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3 3 Tomorrow's Healthy Society: research priorities for foods and diets

4 Ten research priorities (food and health 2050) 4

5 Strengthening Global Food and Nutrition Security through Research and Innovation - lessons learned from Expo 2015 Discussion paper by the EXPO 2015 EU Scientific Steering Committee High Level debate of four final recommendations to the EU Input from 6 months discussions within >200 EU EXPO 2015 events Input from online consultation AL_Expo-Discussion-paper_lowQ%281%29.pdf 5

6 Improve public health through nutrition: healthy and sustainable consumption Exemplar research areas Better understanding of the specific nutritional requirements of different demographic groups (e.g. the aged) or different genotypes is required. Enhancing the ability to provide healthy, safe and sustainable food for those on low incomes. Understanding consumer behaviour better to find ways of creating changes in food consumption that reduce the public health burden and environmental costs of farming: understanding and promoting sustainable nutrition. Defining interventions that most effectively reduce (or prevent) the twin publichealth burdens of malnourishment through under- and over-consumption. Enhancing the nutritional quality of food through identification, and promotion of, alternative farming systems, including more diversified ones, or different crops. Developing biofortification, fortification and reformulation of food for health outcomes whilst ensuring public acceptance of this. Better understanding is needed of the human metabolic system and how it Interacts with diet, including the role of the gut microbiome in healthy and diseased states. 6

7 EXPO 2015 Eu Scientific Steering Committee recommendations: research and innovation in global food and nutrition security 7 The recommendations are: 1. Promote systems approaches ( ) to identify the best leverage points where interventions will have the greatest impact. ( ) Based on these leverage points, invest in interdisciplinary research to develop integrated solutions. 2. Synthesise both new, and the body of existing, knowledge and use it better to engage with citizens about the impacts of food choices on nutrition and the environment. ( ) 3. Stimulate an innovation environment by incentivising a greater degree of co-designed and co-executed work with stakeholder groups with an interest in adopting innovations ( ). 4. Finally, the EU as a global actor should support a new science based global assessment mechanism for global food and nutrition security: an International Panel on Food and Nutrition Security (IPFN). This will provide synthesis of scientific knowledge, help to set research agenda on contentious issues, stimulate problem solving new research, and contribute to transparent public discourse on instruments, synergies, tradeoffs and risks.

8 Any low-hanging fruits? On open data On evaluation of interventions and monitoring/evaluation policies - Ensure solid monitoring and evaluation of interventions/policies - Consider, if possible/appropriate, other outcome indicators e.g. health-, costs-, equity- or education- related 8

9 On open data Nutrition and obesity are very complex issues; big data and good reporting possibly new tools will help making sense of it all "Two heads" think better than one Crowdsourced research: Many hands make tight work Silberzahn R and Uhlmann EL, Nature Oct 7, 2015 "Two heads" can ask two questions 9

10 On evaluation of interventions and monitoring/evaluation policies Evaluation criteria of school food policies in the EU adapted from Storcksdieck et al, 10

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