The UK is a world leader in nutritional science and in research aimed at improving health and reducing the burden of nutrition-related illness. The need for basic, strategic and applied nutrition research has never been stronger. We face a double burden of disease caused by the combination of classical nutritional deficiencies and the rapidly increasing problem of ill-health associated with dietary excess and imbalance.
These problems are not confined to the UK, and nutrition has a major contributing role in non-communicable and infectious diseases throughout the world. There is a pressing need for research to identify the causes of nutrition-related conditions, to determine the underlying mechanisms, and to develop effective nutrition strategies to promote better health and reduce disease risk.
Awareness of the emerging research requirements of stakeholders and strategies effective translation of scientific evidence to inform decision-makers are essential aspects of the work of nutrition scientists. Running alongside our research and at the heart of our mission is for us to act as an independent, authoritative source of scientific advice and information. The Nutrition and Health Communications team at HNR identifies opportunities so that our research can be explained in a way that policy makers, the media, health professionals and ultimately the public can understand and apply.