The threats of poor nutrition, overweight and chronic illness are evident, but we do not yet know enough about the solutions. Therefore, two new prizes, a project in Kenya and a new classification for ultra-processed foods will improve knowledge on the relationship between nutrition and health.
Poor nutrition, obesity and chronic diseases are not just an individual problem. One billion people have overweight globally and the number of people with diabetes has quadrupled in a few decades. This represents a massive threat to the health and livelihoods of many people, especially in low and middle-income countries.
However, our knowledge of the possible solutions has not grown at the same pace as the problems, says Arne Astrup, Professor, MD and Senior Vice President for Obesity & Nutrition at the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
“We have focused too narrowly on fat intake and exercise and have failed to adopt a more holistic approach. We should not just examine what people eat, but also, for example, their sleeping habits, their online screen time and the hormonal impact of chemicals in the environment. People eat more when they are lonely or stressed and perhaps encouraging childhood play and activity is more important than measuring BMI. Furthermore, since our diet affects CO2 emissions from agriculture we should consider a healthier diet as a part of the green transition. These are all reasons why the Novo Nordisk Foundation has chosen to prioritise the development of nutritional science and the implementation of optimum solutions.”
The best research should be rewarded
Among other initiatives, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has funded two new and ambitious prizes for groundbreaking research on nutrition, which will be awarded in cooperation with the American Society for Nutrition, one of the key associations representing nutritional scientists. The prizes are named after the two Danish scientists Henrik Dam (1895–1976), who received the Nobel Prize in 1943, and Flemming Quaade (1923–2007), who was an early and leading nutritionist at Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen.
“Henrik Dam’s discovery of vitamin K revolutionised our knowledge of the relationship between nutrition and health, and Flemming Quaade’s innovative methods put focus on overweight among children. Today, many exciting scientists are following in their footsteps,” says Arne Astrup. “An important field of research today is the microbiome – the complex system of bacteria and other microbes in our body that are instrumental to our appetite, metabolism and immune system. For example, much indicates parents can transfer their overweight to their children already in the foetal stage through hormones, and perhaps through the microbiome. If we are to focus on one particular area of nutrition, it should be among children, since overweight and chronic diseases are often and unfortunately founded in childhood.”
From nutrition to healthcare system
Children are the focus of the MoMS project in Kenya, which aims to strengthen our knowledge of how different nutrients affect children’s development. The project is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation in cooperation with the Gates Foundation, which has extensive experience with projects in low and middle-income countries.
“In some parts of Kenya, the diet is unfortunately flawed and especially lacking in protein and micronutrients, leading to malnutrition, which inhibits the development of the foetus and newborns and can lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease. This has considerable long-term consequences for the whole country,” says Arne Astrup. “The World Health Organization has recommended giving special supplements – called MMS – to pregnant women and young children, but unfortunately the effect has not been as great as we hoped. With this project, we will test different types of supplements and monitor the children for an extended period of time. We hope that this will be beneficial – both for the children and for our knowledge on nutrition in general. Another strength of the project is that we are cooperating with the Gates Foundation and talented researchers in Kenya who have important local knowledge.”
Ultra-processed foods – a one-sided paradigm
Projects such as MoMS emphasise that there are complex factors at play when it comes to healthy and unhealthy nutrition, and that the diet can be a shortcut to providing better livelihoods for people and supporting sustainable environmental and societal development. Not focusing too one-sidedly on one explanatory model is therefore very important.
“Right now, many are focusing on ultra-processed foods – those that you cannot make in your own kitchen, but are factory-made by adding, for example, modified starch, flavourings and colours, emulsifiers and various E-numbers,” says Arne Astrup. “However, we are at risk of demonising heathy foods such as some types of cereals that you cannot make at home but are packed with whole grains and fibres.”
In response, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has launched a project to develop a more nuanced version of the so-called NOVA classification that rates the degree of processing. NOVA 2.0 is being developed by a group at the University of Copenhagen in collaboration with the world’s leading researchers in the field, and will focus on health rather than the production process.
“We should not make the same mistake as when we shamed fat, because we ended up promoting a diet with a high starch content that in effect works like sugar in the body. This turned out to be a bad solution for many people. Instead, our science should be as nuanced, rich and rewarding as a good meal!”
Read more about the projects:
Prizes in nutritional science in collaboration with the American Society for Nutrition.
The MoMS project — Mother’s Micronutrient Supplement for Pregnancy and Lactation – in Kenya.
The Next Generation Nova Classification, led by the University of Copenhagen.