Newswise — INDIANAPOLIS (July 20, 2020) – Leadership for the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) joined more than 60 organizations that stand in support of the need for greater investment and coordination in federal nutrition research and echo the call of the report, “Strengthening national nutrition research: Rationale and options for a new coordinated federal research effort and authority” (Am J Clin Nutr 2020).
“Strengthening federal nutrition research will provide tremendous benefits for our nation and lay the foundation for accelerated scientific advances to improve and sustain the health of all Americans, reduce health disparities, lower healthcare spending, strengthen our food system, improve military readiness, and stimulate economic growth,” explains Sheila Fleischhacker, PhD, JD, SNEB Director at Large and lead author of this report. “I am proud that SNEB joins a strong and growing list of organizations coming together to support the development of a new, robust, coordinated federal nutrition research effort. Now more than ever, we need to advocate for the importance of evidence-based approaches to promote food justice as a part of racial justice and support innovations in food systems research that supports healthy people and a healthy planet.”
“Before and during this pandemic, our members have seen first-hand the impacts strong federal research and translation investments have on helping to build the evidence-base for addressing food security and obesity prevention using policy, systems changes, and environmental supports,” said SNEB President Elect Pam Koch, EdD, RD. “As the report points out, we need stronger investments, leadership, and alignment to understand and address diet-related health disparities and this includes supporting and enhancing translational and implementation science that accelerates knowledge gaps in developing effective behavior change strategies and policy, systems, and environmental supports for promoting healthy eating.”
The report highlights the important nutrition research gaps and opportunities and how nutrition research serves as the cornerstone for many of our federal nutrition programs and policies, specifically the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which informs programs such as WIC, SNAP-Ed, and National School Lunch,” explains Angie Tagtow, MS, RD, co-author of the report, SNEB Member, and former Executive Director of the US Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. “We need a more coordinated federal approach, investment, and authority for nutrition research that can help strengthen the process for objective and independent development, review, and dissemination of the best scientific evidence to the American public in the Dietary Guidelines. The options put forth in our report are key ingredients to ensuring we have the fundamental research, monitoring, and surveillance processes needed to develop and translate dietary guidance.”
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ABOUT THE SOCIETY FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION AND BEHAVIOR
The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior is an international organization of nutrition education professionals who are dedicated to advancing food and nutrition education research, practice and policy that promote equity, and support public and planetary health. To learn more, visit www.sneb.org.
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