A new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) “Nutrition: Science and Health” will be launched in the House of Commons on 6th June to examine the evidence for the vital role of nutrition in tackling major health problems in the UK.
Set up by The Nutrition Society in collaboration with Newcastle University, the APPG will kick off with an expert inquiry into malnutrition, cognitive ageing and empowering front-line health workers with a focus on nutrition science. Taking evidence from leading UK and Irish academics, the inquiry will examine how implementing cutting-edge nutrition science can make a difference in health and support the work of the NHS.
Launching the new APPG, Chair Tracey Crouch CBE MP said: “I am very pleased to be participating in this new APPG. I know from personal experience how important an understanding of nutrition is to our health. I welcome the opportunity for this new APPG to bring together parliamentarians, scientists, researchers, charities and the private sector to help debate the challenges and opportunities in nutrition science and health, and then develop recommendations for sustainable solutions.”
Other founding members include Andy Slaughter MP, Chi Onwurah MP, Baroness Boycott, Baroness Ritchie and Lord Brooke.
Nutrition Society President, Professor Julie Lovegrove, commented: "Nutrition plays a decisive role across all areas of the UK to extend human healthspan, strengthen individual resilience and increase our quality of life. That's why knowledge about nutrition science is a vital ingredient for everyone working to improve the nation's health.
"Given the plasticity of the ageing process, nutrition interventions have the potential to support healthy ageing and reduce disease risk. With the Government's levelling up focus, and an ageing population at higher risk of malnutrition, the application of nutrition as a lower-cost preventative medicine in the UK should be high on the political agenda. That's what our new APPG aims to achieve".
Professor Bernard Corfe, Professor of Human Nutrition and Health at Newcastle University, added: "Good nutrition is key to good health, longevity, quality of life and productivity. Significant improvements in the nation’s health can be derived from better education, regulation, and innovation in nutrition.
“Over the course of this inquiry, the APPG will provide parliamentarians and policymakers with the latest information and guidance from leading scientists and provide a much-needed voice for nutrition in the UK".
The inquiry - ‘The role of Nutrition as the new Preventative Medicine: positive nutrition interventions to reduce the burden and costs on the UK health services’, will run across 2023-24 and call oral and written expert witnesses from research, healthcare, policy and the private sector to inform an evidence-based report. This will focus on three distinct areas:
Part one – ‘The dual health burden of malnutrition and obesity in the UK’.
Date and Venue 6 June 2023, Committee Room 13, House of Commons.
Guest speakers are:
Professor Ian Macdonald: Professor of Metabolic Physiology in The School of Life Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham.
Professor Greta Defeyter: Professor in Developmental Psychology, Director of the Healthy Living Lab
Professor Charlotte Hardman: Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool
Part two – ‘Food and Mood’: the impact of nutrition on cognition and mental health, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and healthy ageing
Date TBC November 2023
Part three – ‘Prevention and Resilience through Empowerment’: solutions through empowering front line Health Care Professionals and informing local policy interventions.
Date TBC March 2024
ENDS
Editors' Notes
The inaugural meeting of the new APPG will take place on 6 June 2023 at 5.30 pm in Committee Room 13, The House of Commons.
The APPG is independent of any form of sponsorship, being solely supported by The Nutrition Society, a globally leading Learned Society for nutrition, which will underwrite the costs and provide secretariat support. Therefore, this APPG poses no financial conflict of interest and requires no membership fee. It will take a holistic, ‘one health’ approach to nutritional science, and post-meeting reports with policy recommendations will be published after each meeting or enquiry.
Inquiries should, in the first instance, be directed to:
Mark Hollingsworth
CEO, The Nutrition Society
Tel: 07961 201714
Email: [email protected]