Paris, France - 18 November 1997 - The first Danone International Prize for Nutrition has been awarded to Vernon R. Young, PhD, professor of nutritional biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), whose research on proteins and amino acids has become the basis for evaluating the nutritional status and needs of populations worldwide. Danone Group CEO Franck Riboud presented Young with the $140,000 (800,000 FF) award at a ceremony at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Paris.
"The creation of the Danone International Prize for Nutrition is a new sign of Danone's ongoing commitment to health. This Prize is an example of our will to invest long term in the study of the connections between nutrition and health," Riboud said.
The Danone International Prize for Nutrition originated from the Danone Group's commitment to health. The aim of the Prize is to encourage leadership in nutrition research and to promote the public's understanding of the importance of this field of research. The Prize, modeled after the world's most renowned scientific awards and valued at 800,000 French francs, about $140,000, is awarded every two years to a researcher or a group of researchers whose work in human nutrition has contributed to progress in the understanding and improvement of public health.
Over the past 30 years, Young has led groundbreaking studies on the metabolism of proteins and amino acids. He has developed new, non-invasive methods for studying protein turnover in muscles, and has conducted seminal work on the metabolism of minerals.
In 1985, his research questioned the concept of the biological value of dietary proteins and led to a re-examination of the World Health Organization's (WHO) dietary recommendations for protein. Young's research suggests that the recommended protein intake for adults between 56 and 80 years of age, as set by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and WHO, is at least 30 percent lower than real needs. Similarly, his studies suggest that daily amino acid requirements in adults are two to three times higher than the FAO and WHO recommendations. His work also has focused on understanding how disease -- especially trauma due to severe burn injuries in children and adults -- affects the needs for specific amino acids, and on identifying ways of improving the nutritional support of hospitalized patients.
Young's remarkable and original contributions to further nutrition research are due in part to the fact that he has not been afraid to challenge established theories. "Dr. Young was chosen unanimously by the Jury because of his exemplary career over the last 30 years," said Professor Pierre Bourlioux, PhD, president of the Danone International Prize for Nutrition. "His contribution to the advancement of scientific knowledge has been remarkable. If one had to describe Dr. Young's attitude and work, one would cite a comment he made in a speech to the American Society for Clinical Nutrition: 'We should not be prepared to submit uncritically to what has become dogma in the area of nutrition for so many years.'"
More than 540 nutrition researchers in 46 countries were candidates, members of the Nomination College or of the Prize's Juries. The Prize was created with the support of the Foundation of Medical Research and was coordinated by the Organization Committee, chaired by Bourlioux. The Organization Committee included the presidents of the Danone and Dannon Institutes around the world. Barbara O. Schneeman, PhD, president of the U.S. Dannon Institute and professor of nutrition at the University of California-Davis, was a member of the international selection committee.
The Danone Group, based in Paris, France, is the sixth largest manufacturer of food products in the world and is the parent company to The Dannon Company, Inc., headquartered in Tarrytown, NY. The Dannon Company, Inc. is the leading producer of yogurt products in the United States.
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