Which are the greatest recent discoveries and the greatest future challenges in nutrition?

Abstract

Background: Nutrition science aims to create new knowledge, but scientists rarely sit back to reflect on what nutrition research has achieved in recent decades. Methods: We report the outcome of a 1-day symposium at which the audience was asked to vote on the greatest discoveries in nutrition since 1976 and on the greatest challenges for the coming 30 years. Most of the 128 participants were Dutch scientists working in nutrition or related biomedical and public health fields. Candidate discoveries and challenges were nominated by five invited speakers and by members of the audience. Ballot forms were then prepared on which participants selected one discovery and one challenge. Results: A total of 15 discoveries and 14 challenges were nominated. The audience elected Folic acid prevents birth defects as the greatest discovery in nutrition science since 1976. Controlling obesity and insulin resistance through activity and diet was elected as the greatest challenge for the coming 30 years. This selection was probably biased by the interests and knowledge of the speakers and the audience. For the present review, we therefore added 12 discoveries from the period 1976 to 2006 that we judged worthy of consideration, but that had not been nominated at the meeting. Conclusions: The meeting did not represent an objective selection process, but it did demonstrate that the past 30 years have yielded major new discoveries in nutrition and health.

Effect of national wealth on BMI: An analysis of 206,266 individuals in 70 low-, middle- and high-income countries

“…The general approach is now well accepted,[6] but can lead to models of enormous complexity [7]. Countries' economic development and economic policy strategies have been investigated as macro-level determinants of increasing levels of obesity [8–10].…”

Human Folate Bioavailability

“…The preventive effect of high folic acid intake against neural tube defects (NTD) is considered one of the most important nutritional discoveries in the period 1976-2006 [1]. Folate requirements are increased in life stages with amplified cell division, e.g., during pregnancy, as folate is essential during cellular replication.…”

General Mechanisms for Disease Prevention

“…These studies thus indicate that understanding the complex interactions between food components in the MedDiet will lead to a greater understanding of its protective effects. This new holistic approach, referred to as a "dietary pattern" approach, is a departure from the current more reductionist approach, and represents an important challenge for future nutrition research [87]. The importance of analysing the overall dietary pattern can be illustrated by considering factors that affect cancer risk.…”