EUFIC to host 1st ever communication symposium on food-based dietary guidelines at this year’s FENS European Nutrition Conference
Last Updated : 14 October 2019The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) will host the first ever symposium on the role of effective communication on food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) this Wednesday, 16 October, at the 13th European Nutrition Conference, organized by the Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) in Dublin, Ireland.
How can better communication of food-based dietary guidelines turn them into a sharper, more efficient tool for nutrition policies, and ultimately help drive public health more effectively? This is the question the EUFIC symposium will address, together with leading experts related to food, nutrition and health.
Dr Milka Sokolović, Head of Food and Health Science at EUFIC and chair of the symposium, said: ‘This symposium is a great opportunity not only to understand how food-based dietary guidelines can be improved, but to elevate the role of communication to engage and inspire people to benefit from the guidance. To drive healthier and more sustainable diets, we must make sure nutrition science is communicated in an appealing and accessible way.”
Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs), visualized as ‘food pyramids’, ‘eat-well plates’ or ‘food wheels’, are an essential tool in the communication of nutrition guidelines to the wider population. The concept, status and prospects of FBDGs are currently under scrutiny by the scientific community. Updates are expected to include aspects such as changing lifestyles, personalized health and sustainability concerns. However, a crucial but often overlooked factor is the way people consume information and how science communicators can help more effectively reach people. This gap is what the symposium aims to help fill.
The introduction by Dr Sokolović on the key role of communication in nutrition science, will be followed by a contribution from Prof. Inge Tetens from the Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). Prof. Tetens will set the scene by taking the audience through the evolution of food based dietary guidelines, stressing the importance of effective communication if FBDGs are to reach those who need them most. Dr Stefan Storcksdieck genannt Bonsmann, Scientific Project Officer at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, will then give an overview of FBGDs across Europe, followed by Prof. Judy Buttriss, Director General of the British Nutrition Foundation, who will share lessons learned from case studies on the use of FBGDs in the UK.
The theme of this year’s European Nutrition Conference at large will be ‘Malnutrition in an Obese World’. Hundreds of leading researchers, organizations and institutions from across the world will present and discuss research in more than 90 sessions. They are divided in four main categories: ‘Determinants and drivers of malnutrition across the life course, ‘Novel technologies for dietary assessment’, ‘An exploration of current metabolic perspectives’, and ‘The food environment’.
Press Contacts
- Davide Carrino
- European Food Information Council (EUFIC)
- Davide.carrino@eufic.org ; +32 483 673198
Food-Based Dietary Guidelines & people: is communication the missing link?
Date, time: Wednesday, October 16. 13:30-15:00
Background
The 13th European Nutrition Conference is the largest event in Europe bringing together nutrition science experts, and it is organized by the Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) on October 15-18. The conference takes place every 4 years and is the premier European meeting in its field attracting over 2,500 delegates, not only from the 26 affiliated European countries, but from a global platform with over 50 other countries represented, as well as from a range of related partner groups and societies at European and international level.
The Food Pyramid: A Dietary Guideline in Europe
