At the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting, Nutrition 2019, a panel discussion was held to discuss the proposed National Institute of Nutrition. The panel was moderated by ASN President Dr. Catherine Field and panelists included Dr. Joon Young, President and Managing Partner of Palo Alto Investors, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Dr. David Kessler, Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. John Courtney, ASN’s Chief Executive Officer. The discussion was also open to attendees to speak with their comments and questions.
Listen to the discussion FREE in ASN On Demand!
Background on the Proposed National Institute of Nutrition
October 2018 – Dr. Joon Yun authored an opinion piece published in The Hill, The Case for a National Institute of Nutrition.
February 2019 – Dr. Joon Yun and Dr. David Kessler, as well as Secretary Dan Glickman wrote an opinion editorial that was published in the New York Times, We Need Better Answers on Nutrition. These two pieces highlighted that the U.S. is overdue to establish an institute devoted to nutrition as the top cause of poor health.
March 2019 – Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan introduced a bill, H.R. 1887, to establish a National Institute of Nutrition under the National Institutes of Health.
August 2019 – ASN Member Dr. Taylor Wallace authored an opinion piece, published by USA Today, We Should Establish a National Institute of Nutrition.
What is the National Institute of Nutrition Act?
This bill, H.R. 1887, states that the purpose of such an institute would be to facilitate and help coordinate insightful research into nutrients, foods, and their relationships to better health. The Institute will provide grants, cooperative agreements, contracts related to nutrition research that could focus on a number of different areas that are highlighted in the bill. Some of these areas include the gut microbiome, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, weight loss, obesity, cancer, bioactives and phenolics, health disparities, and mental health.
Panel Discussion of the National Institute of Nutrition
As this bill awaits committee discussion in the U.S. House of Representatives, ASN brought together some of the top nutrition stakeholders to share their perspectives. Click below to listen and see the presentation from the session at Nutrition 2019.