Nutrition science at heart of Parliamentary health inquiry

A new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) “Nutrition: Science and Health” has been launched in the UK House of Commons today (6 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 and 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 to 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.

 

 

Professor Julie Lovegrove, President of the Nutrition Society and Hugh Sinclair Chair of Human Nutrition at the University of Reading, said: "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".

 

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:

 

Date and Venue 6 June 2023, Committee Room 13, House of Commons.

 

Date TBC November 2023

 

Date TBC March 2024