NNI Workshop Series

The 97th NNI Workshop, “Intersections of Nutrition: Retracing Yesterday, Redefining Tomorrow” held on June 2022 discussed how far pediatric nutrition research has come and how so many of these novel discoveries have become a part of our everyday essentials. But aside from this, it was also a call to further where we can take this new knowledge and how this can be applied in every HCP’s practice. This booklet provides new insights from global experts on nutrition and epigenetics, the gut microbiota, human milk, metabolic health of children, malnutrition and globalization, and the changes in children’s diets.

In the last three years, the global pandemic has amplified lifestyle and nutritional shifts of families everywhere. While this rapid change has led to prioritization of health and wellbeing, new health challenges also came about.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 15 million babies are born too early every year. That is more than 1 in 10 babies and this number is rising.

According to the World Health Organization, the early child period, i.e., from birth to 5 years of age, is considered the most important developmental phase throughout the lifespan.

Lactation is a defining characteristic of all mammals, and, indeed, mammals draw their name from mammae, or mammary glands. The evolution of mammary glands has been the subject of debate since Charles Darwin.

Malnutrition among children remains a persistent problem around the world. The latest UNICEF data reports that nearly half of all deaths in children under 5 years of age can be attributed to undernutrition. Poor linear growth, or stunting, affects over 150 million children around the world.

Uncovering the role of nutrition education in improving the quality of life in individuals, families, including education of parents and caregivers, children in day care and schools. Recognizing the importance of nutrition education for healthcare professionals and understanding the critical impact of nutrition education in the public health sector.

Infant and childhood nutrition form the basis of an individual’s health in later life. Multiple lines of evidence – from experimental to epidemiological – are converging to highlight the importance of this early period for metabolic programming, physiological growth and cognition.