Food for Thought 2020: The science and politics of nutrition
COVID-19 forced the format to change, but The BMJ and Swiss Re Institute believed that the science and politics of nutrition were too important to push back a year. The Food for Thought event 2020 was transformed into a fully virtual event.
| Date | 29 - 30 Jun 2020 |
|---|---|
| Location | Online Click to open Google Maps |
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Podcast
Expert talks on nutrition & health
Listen to our podcast series for more insights on the impact of nutrition on certain diseases. Gary Taubes, journalist and president of the Nutrition Science Initiative, interviewed several authors of the articles published by The BMJ in conjunction with our "Food for Thought 2020: The science and politics of nutrition" virtual conference.
Join our conversation on Twitter: #Food4Thought20
Listen to our podcast series here:
Link to the article referenced in the podcast is still pending publication by The BMJ.
Link to the article referenced in the podcast is still pending publication by The BMJ.
Evidence in nutrition research: when should we change our minds?
Nutrition research faces many challenges, including biases, confounders and the lack of randomised controlled trials. Jeffrey Bohn, Chief Research Officer, Swiss Re Institute, and John Schoonbee, Global Chief Medical Officer, Swiss Re, discuss the controversies around evidence and the new techniques Swiss Re Institute is developing to derive causality from association studies.
Recordings Day 1
Recordings Day 2
Agenda day 1
Monday, 29 June 2020
| Time (CEST/Zurich) | Topic |
|
14.45 |
Welcome and introduction
|
|
15.00 |
What did we learn from Food for Thought 2018
|
|
15.40 |
Comfort break |
| 16.00 |
Type 2 diabetes: How do we shift from treatment to reversal? Discussants:
|
| 17.00 | Comfort break |
| 17.20 |
Should current salt guidelines be taken with a "pinch of salt"? Discussants:
|
| 18.20 | Closing remarks
|
Agenda day 2
Tuesday, 30 June 2020
| Time (CEST/Zurich) | Topic |
|
|
Part I |
|
12.00 |
Welcome and introduction
|
|
12.05 |
Food for mind and body: The impact of nutrition on mental well-being Discussants:
|
|
13.05 |
Closing and announcement of sessions part II
|
| Time (CEST/Zurich) | Topic |
|
|
Part II |
|
15.30 |
Welcome and introduction
|
|
15.35 |
Reimagining food systems to promote health in the wake of COVID-19 Discussants:
|
|
16.35 |
Comfort break |
|
16.55 |
Improving nutritional research and conflicts of interest Discussants:
|
|
17.55 |
Closing remarks
|
About the event
A landmark series of articles in The BMJ.
A landmark conference hosted by Swiss Re Institute.
How do we maintain a healthy diet? The question is simple, the answer is long, and one which many of us clearly get wrong. We know nutrition is one of the key drivers of chronic disease; yet there is great controversy as to what constitutes a healthy diet and how we should encourage individuals to eat well.
In 2018, The BMJ and Swiss Re Institute worked together to publish a landmark series of articles on the science and politics of nutrition. The articles brought together authors of different backgrounds and perspectives to help make sense of the current debate and understand potential disagreements. The series was launched at a meeting in Zurich in June 2018.
Building on the success of the series, The BMJ and Swiss Re Institute were once again partnering to explore how nutrition can lead to better health outcomes and greater societal resilience against disease. Due to COVID-19, the conference has had to go virtual. On 29 and 30 June, some of the most influential voices in nutrition and health gathered online to discuss the biggest challenges in the field, review progress since Food for Thought 2018, and set the agenda for future research and policy.
A series of articles was published in June 2020 on the website of The BMJ. Gary Taubes, journalist and president of the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSi), interviewed several authors of the articles. You can listen to the podcast series here.
The world-wide spread of corona should remind us all we have yet to conquer the dangers of acute infections; but it should not blind us to the global epidemic of chronic conditions, in many of which nutrition plays a crucial role.
Speakers
Arne Astrup
Professor, Head of Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports
University of Copenhagen
Allison Aubrey
Food & Health Correspondent
NPR News
Nancy R. Cook
Professor of Epidemiology
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Katherine Cullerton
Research Fellow at the School of Public Health
University of Queensland
Sheila Dillon
Journalist & Presenter
The Food Programme, BBC Radio 4
Georgia Ede
Nutritional Psychiatrist
Joseph Firth
Presidential Fellow, Division of Psychology & Mental Health
University of Manchester
Nita Gandhi Forouhi
Professor of Population Health and Nutrition
MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge
Christopher Gardner
Rehnborg Farquhar Professor, Stanford Prevention Research Center
Stanford University
Fiona Godlee
Editor in Chief
The BMJ
Sarah Hallberg
Medical Director and Founder
Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program, Indiana University Health Arnett
Felice Jacka
Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry and Director
Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University
Navjoyt Ladher
Head of Scholarly Comment
The BMJ
Anna Lartey
Director of Nutrition
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Graham MacGregor
Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine
Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine
Michael Mosley
Science Presenter, Journalist and Executive Producer
Dariush Mozaffarian
Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition and Medicine, and Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy
Tufts University
Franz H. Messerli
Professor of Medicine
Swiss Cardiovascular Center, University of Bern
Martin O’Donnell
Associate Professor of Translational Medicine
National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway)
John Schoonbee
Global Chief Medical Officer
Life & Health Products
Bhavani Shankar
Professorial Research Fellow in Food and Health
Institute for Sustainable Food and Department of Geography, University of Sheffield
Tim Spector
Professor of Genetic Epidemiology
Kings College London
Gary Taubes
Science and Health Journalist; Co-Founder and President
Non-Profit Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI.org)
Roy Taylor
Professor of Medicine and Metabolism, Director of Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre
Newcastle University
Chris van Tulleken
Infectious diseases doctor and BBC science presenter
University College Hospital London (UCHL)
David Unwin
RCGP clinical expert in diabetes
UK Royal College of General Practitioners
Bee Wilson
Food Writer
Kimberley Wilson
Chartered Psychologist, Author and Visiting Lecturer, and Governor
Tavistock & Portman NHS Mental Health Trust
Contact
Irène Maag
Senior Business Development Manager
Swiss Re Institute