Proceedings of the Nutrition Society

Food system challenges exacerbate inequalities in access to fresh healthy food and threaten food security. Lack of food security, referred to as food insecurity, is associated with poorer physical and mental health outcomes and has been identified as a key challenge to address by calls for food system transformation. Increasing food production through urban agriculture, the production of fruit and vegetables in urban areas, has been identified as a potentially effective contributor to food system transformation, but the effect of this on household or UK-level food security is unclear...

Globally, we are currently facing a rapid demographic shift leading to an increase in the proportion of older adults within the population. This raises concerns about the potential increase in age-related diseases and their impact on our ability to provide adequate health and end-of-life care. To apply appropriate interventions, understanding the changes that happen with ageing becomes essential. Ageing is often accompanied by a decrease in appetite and physical activity, which may lead to malnutrition, resulting in decreased muscle mass, physical capabilities and independence...

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major health concern for women. Historically there has been a misconception that men are at greater risk, because CVD tends to occur earlier in life compared to women. Clinical guidelines for prevention of heart disease are currently the same for both sexes, but accumulating evidence demonstrates that risk profiles diverge. In fact, several CVD risk factors confer an even greater risk in women relative to men, including high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and raised triglycerides...

There is significant evidence that an unhealthy diet greatly increases the risk of complications during pregnancy and predisposes offspring to metabolic dysfunction and obesity. While fat intake is typically associated with the onset of obesity and its comorbidities, there is increasing evidence linking sugar, particularly high fructose corn syrup, to the global rise in obesity rates. Furthermore, the detrimental effects of added sugar intake during pregnancy on mother and child have been clearly outlined. Guidelines advising pregnant women to avoid food and beverages with high fat and sugar have led to an increase in consumption of "diet" or "light" options...

The teenage years represent a crucial period of physical and cognitive growth and development with sufficient micronutrient intakes necessary to meet high nutritional requirements. This review examines current micronutrient intakes in teenagers in the Western world in the context of public health implications including the prevalence of inadequate intakes and risk of excessive intakes. Intakes of vitamins A, D, E and C, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and potassium in teenagers are low when compared to generally accepted recommendations, while there is little risk of excessive micronutrient intakes based on current dietary patterns...

Obesity is a leading cause of death and disability globally. There is a higher proportion of women living with obesity than men, with differences in prevalence rates between women and men particularly staggering in low- and middle- income countries. The food environments that most people live in have been defined as "obesogenic", characterised by easy access to energy dense, highly palatable foods with poor nutritional value. There is an established need to intervene to change food environments to prevent obesity...

Nutrition plays a pivotal role in health and disease prevention and management and through its interactions with social and personal factors, influences an individual's growth, development and life chances, as well as long-term health and longevity. These factors include amongst others, genetic inheritance, ethnicity, socio-cultural context, sex and gender. Although different interpretations exist, in general sex refers to the genetic, biological and physiological attributes that distinguish females, males and intersex whereas gender refers to socio-cultural and politically constructed roles and behaviours associated with a feminine, masculine or non-binary identity, which vary from society to society...

Undernutrition in early life remains a significant public health challenge affecting millions of infants and young children globally. Children who are wasted, stunted or underweight are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Undernutrition at critical periods also impacts on aspects of neurodevelopment, with longer term consequences to educational performance and mental health outcomes. Despite consistent evidence highlighting an increased risk of neonatal and infant mortality among boys, a common assumption held across many disciplines is that girls are more vulnerable with respect to early life exposures...

(Poly)phenols are plant secondary metabolites widely abundant in plant foods and beverages comprising a very large number of compounds with diverse structure and biological activities. Accumulating evidence indicates that these compounds exert beneficial effects against cardiometabolic diseases, and this review will provide a summary of current knowledge in this area. Epidemiological and clinical data collectively suggest that intake of flavonoids reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, with the evidence being particularly strong for the flavan-3-ol subclass...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, and is commonly associated with modifiable risk factors (1) . Most studies to date examining link between food intake and risk of CVD, have focused on modulation of plasma cholesterol concentrations (total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C)(2) . However, recent studies suggest LDL particle size is a more sensitive risk marker for CVD(3) with smaller, dense LDL particles reported as more atherogenic than larger, more buoyant LDL(4) .Although dietary guidelines recommend SFA intake of <10 % of total energy(5) , this doesn't consider food source, with recent evidence suggesting differing, sometimes beneficial, lipid responses following consumption of SFA from dairy compared to other food sources(6, 7) ...

Endogenous estrogens regulate essential functions to include menstrual cycles, energy balance, adipose tissue distribution, pancreatic β-cell function, insulin sensitivity, and lipid homeostasis. Estrogens are a family of hormones which include estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), and estriol (E3). Estrogens function by binding and activating estrogen receptors (ERs). Phytoestrogens are plant-derived compounds which exhibit estrogenic-like activity and can bind to ERs. Phytoestrogens exert potential estrogenic-like benefits; however, their effects are context-dependent and require cautious consideration regarding generalized health benefits...

Access to adequate food is one of the Human Rights set out in international law and hence its delivery (through policy) is the role of government. "Food policy" cannot be the role of a single government department, however, since regulations must take care of public goods (e.g. public health and protecting the natural environment) while also creating an economic environment attractive to private sector participation. From the mid 20th century, much of food policy was driven by a need to encourage the production base, but more recently the importance of considering food policy through the lens of nutritional requirements is increasingly recognised, alongside the importance of minimising environmental damage...

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the history in support of the role of dietary saturated fatty acids (SFA) in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the controversy and consensus for the evidence in support of guidelines to remove and replace SFA with unsaturated fatty acids. The review will also examine the existence, origins, and implications for CVD risk of variability in serum LDL-cholesterol in response to these guidelines. While the quality of supporting evidence for the efficacy of restricting SFA on CVD risk has attracted controversy, this has helped to increase understanding of the inter-relationships between SFA, LDL-cholesterol and CVD, and reinforce confidence in this dietary recommendation...

Excess body weight is associated with increased mortality and risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Body fat distribution is now considered a better indicator of disease risk than body mass index (BMI), with central adiposity associated with dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance. Dietary modification is unquestionably important in the prevention of obesity and CVD, with the type but not the amount of dietary fat emerging as an important determinant of both diseases. Although reducing saturated fat (SFA) intake via replacement with unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) is a key public health strategy for CVD prevention, variability in the lipid lowering response has been observed...

The aim of this review was to highlight the key issues in relation to food insecurity among children and young people living in Scotland. It provides an overview of the current context of food insecurity more generally within the UK and specifically in Scotland. Food insecurity has risen in Scotland evidenced through responses to national surveys and the dramatic increase in households relying on emergency food provision. Food insecurity is highest among young people, single parent families and single men. The key drivers of food insecurity include insufficient income, welfare reform, food inflation and geo-political events...

Nutritional requirements of individuals vary across the lifecycle, according to activity,age, and gender. To optimize human health, consideration of nutritional priorities at each stage is needed. This conference brought together multidisciplinary experts in maternal and child nutrition and health, cardiometabolic and plant-based nutrition, and dietitians involved in the care of vulnerable populations, plus nutritional metabolism, health, and ageing. The presentations highlighted the most important nutrition research in these areas, updating knowledge and suggesting how dietary advice and policy could be adapted to incorporate research findings...

The dual burden of malnutrition is characterised by the coexistence of undernutrition alongside overweight/obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases. It is a paradox which disproportionately affects women and is applicable to those who become pregnant after weight loss surgery. Obesity before and during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in both mother and child. Overall lifestyle interventions targeting weight loss in the preconception period have not proven effective, with people, and women in particular, increasingly seeking weight loss surgery...

Research priorities and considerations for nutrition research: Methods of sex and gender analysis for biomedical and nutrition researchIneke Klinge & Emely de VetFor some 20 years science funding bodies have been asking for integration of sex and gender related factors into the content of research and innovation. The rationale for those requirements has been the accumulated evidence that sex and gender are important determinants of health and disease. The European Commission (EC) has been the first, since 2002, to seriously ask for integration of sex and gender into research and innovation in the context of their multi-annual framework programmes...

This review aims to emphasise the impact of poor nutrition on children's health and psychological wellbeing, urging those involved in childhood obesity or nutrition services to broaden their intervention approach. Poor nutrition and childhood obesity affect physical and psychological health. The stress of living with obesity further impacts quality of life, wellbeing and self-esteem. Children living with obesity may experience adverse childhood events and stress, and young people are able to recall the impact of psychosocial issues such as experiencing stigma and discrimination...

Micronutrient deficiencies continue to be a global concern, with the most common deficiencies being vitamin A, iron, zinc and B vitamins (folate and B12). Addressing this requires strategies that are scalable and equitable such that they reach all members of a population irrespective of socioeconomic status and geography. Fortification and biofortification offer potential large-scale solutions, however each have strengths and limitations depending on the context, particularly the cultural and political factors that may create barriers or opportunities for effectiveness...