The abstracts presented at IUNS-ICN 2025, held in Paris in August 2025, are now available as a special collection published in the Journal of Nutritional Science.
The collection brings together the scientific contributions presented at the Congress and provides a lasting resource for the nutrition science community.
IUNS congratulates the Joint Mediterranean Diet Task Force on the publication of A voluntary code of conduct for promoting adherence to the Mediterranean diet: rationale and propositions, now published in the Journal of Nutritional Science.
The publication represents an important milestone in the Task Force’s work to address declining adherence to the Mediterranean diet and promote its health, cultural and sustainability benefits. Established jointly by IUNS, FENS and CIHEAM, the Task Force is developing a common framework to measure adherence and a voluntary code of conduct to support sustainable Mediterranean diets across food systems and sectors.
Welcome back to the IUNS 80th anniversary series, “Nutrition Without Borders: 80 Years of IUNS”.
Addressing today’s nutrition challenges requires more than scientific discovery alone. Turning evidence into meaningful action demands collaboration across countries, disciplines, and sectors. The IUNS Task Forces are one of the organisation’s key mechanisms for translating nutrition science into coordinated global action.
Task Forces are established to address nutrition-related issues that require international cooperation and collective expertise. Their focus is intentionally forward-looking, concentrating on current and emerging challenges that may be under-recognised, insufficiently addressed, or too complex to be tackled by any single institution, discipline, or country alone. Through these collaborative groups, IUNS helps advance knowledge, foster partnerships, and support practical solutions to pressing nutrition concerns.
Purpose and Structure
Task Forces are selected at the beginning of each IUNS Council term and may operate for up to four years. This structure provides a defined period during which each group can identifypriorities, build collaborations, undertake activities, and develop outputs that contribute to nutrition science, policy, and practice.
The current portfolio of Task Forces reflects the diversity and complexity of contemporary nutrition challenges. Areas of focus include conflict-related food and nutrition insecurity, ultra-processed foods, Indigenous peoples’ food sovereignty and wellbeing, territorial diets, and nutrition research priorities in Asia.
Learn more about IUNS Task Forces 2025 – 2029
Breadth and Legacy
While current Task Forces focus on emerging priorities, the Task Force archive demonstrates the breadth of issues that have been addressed across previous Council terms.
Over the years, Task Forces have examined topics including dietary quality, evidence-based nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, technology and nutrition, malnutrition prevention and control, nutrition transition, long-term health, nutrition translation, sustainable diets, Indigenous peoples’ food systems, dietary fat quality, micronutrient interventions, child growth and development, and international food data systems.
Together, these activities reflect the broad scope of nutrition science and its connections with health, food systems, culture, sustainability, equity, and public policy. They also illustrate the IUNS mission to advance nutrition science, research, and development through international cooperation and to encourage communication and collaboration among nutrition scientists worldwide.
Impact and Looking Ahead
As nutrition challenges become increasingly interconnected with issues such as conflict, climate change, food systems transformation, urbanisation, and growing health inequities, international collaboration has never been more important.
Task Forces provide a flexible mechanism for identifying emerging priorities, strengthening global partnerships, and generating knowledge that can inform research, policy, and practice. By bringing together expertise from different regions and disciplines, they help ensure that nutrition science remains responsive to evolving global needs and relevant across diverse contexts.
Through this work, IUNS Task Forces contribute to healthier populations, more resilient food systems, and a more sustainable and equitable future.
How do IUNS Task Forces translate collaboration into action? In next month’s feature, Task Forces in Focus — How IUNS Tackles Emerging Nutrition Challenges, we will take a closer look at selected Task Forces and their activities, illustrating how these expert groups contribute to addressing some of the most pressing nutrition challenges facing communities around the world today.
Welcome back to the IUNS 80th anniversary series, “Nutrition Without Borders: 80 Years of IUNS”.
From Scarcity to Complexity: Global Nutrition Challenges Over 80 Years
When IUNS was founded in 1946, global nutrition challenges were largely defined by scarcity: widespread deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, and protein affected millions. Today, the picture is more complex. While deficiencies remain in some regions, many countries now face the double burden of malnutrition — undernutrition alongside overweight, obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and diet-related chronic diseases. Climate change, urbanisation, and global food systems have added new layers of complexity. Understanding how these challenges have evolved illuminates why international scientific collaboration has never been more critical.
In the post-war period, nutrition science was still young and rapidly developing. The discovery and isolation of vitamins was ongoing, our understanding of deficiency diseases were being scientifically explained. This emerging scientific field was being being applied directly on the major health problems of the day. The focus was on preventing and correcting deficiencies. Vitamin A, iodine, iron, and protein-energy malnutrition were the primary concerns. National governments and international agencies worked to improve food supply, fortify staples, and educate communities. This work saved lives and laid the foundation for modern public health nutrition.
Over time, as food availability increased and lifestyles changed, new challenges emerged. Nutrition science itself continued to expand rapidly, moving beyond individual nutrient identification to understanding more about the complex relationships between diet andlong-term health. Obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and diet-related cancersbecame pressing public health concerns, even in countries still grappling with undernutrition. At the same time, awareness of food system sustainability, environmental impact, and cultural dietary patterns added further layers of complexity to nutrition science.
IUNS’s Evolving Role
IUNS adapted to these shifting challenges by expanding its scientific scope and convening experts to tackle emerging issues. Task forces, international conferences, and collaborative research projects addressed both deficiency diseases and chronic conditions. The union emphasised capacity building, equity, and knowledge sharing, ensuring that scientists in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) could participatefully in global nutrition research.
By comparing “then and now,” it is clear that nutrition challenges have transformed from problems of scarcity to problems of complexity, requiring integrated, interdisciplinary approaches and international cooperation.
The evolution of nutrition challenges underscores why organisations like IUNS remain essential. What began as a mission to address post-war deficiencies has grown into a global platform tackling multifaceted problems, from obesity to climate-sensitive food systems. By convening scientists and fostering collaboration, IUNS helps the global community respond to both old and new nutrition challenges, which remains true to its vision of improving human health worldwide.
The Chilean Society of Nutrition (SOCHINUT) is pleased to announce the publication of Volume 52, Issue 6 (December 2025) of the Revista Chilena de Nutrición. This comprehensive issue brings together critical research from across Ibero-America, addressing public health priorities and emerging nutritional trends.
Key highlights of this edition include:
We invite the global nutrition community to access these open-access articles and stay updated with the latest scientific contributions from our region. Active SOCHINUT members continue to enjoy exclusive benefits for publication.
Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that has been identified as a causal factor in more than 200 adverse health outcomes, including diseases and accidents. However, the relationship between alcohol consumption and health is complex. There is evidence that alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of developing a few chronic diseases.
The findings indicate that no quantity of alcohol can be considered health-promoting and safe for consumption. Accordingly, the DGE recommends avoiding consuming alcoholic beverages.
For individuals who consume alcoholic beverages, it is advisable to avoid excessive intake. This is particularly pertinent to young people. Children, adolescents, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers should generally avoid consuming alcohol. In consideration of estimates of the amount of alcohol required to minimise the risk of adverse health consequences, the DGE also derives recommendations for action on alcohol consumption.
In Germany, further behavioural and population-based prevention efforts are needed to reduce alcohol consumption, related health and social problems, and alcohol-related mortality.
The DGE position statement on alcohol replaces the reference value for alcohol intake previously published by the DGE.
Figure 1: Risk of negative health consequences in relation to alcohol consumption
Copyright: DGE
Free access to the position statement and eSupplement
DOI 10.4455/eu.2024.033
It is widely recognised that the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA;22:6n-3) are beneficial for health. But what is the general recommended level of consumption of these polyunsaturated fatty acids?
A review has been published on Nutrition Research Reviews aiming at providing a global overview of dietary recommendations for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3PUFA) for healthy general populations. The authors have identified 42 technical and scientific documents (TSD) for inclusion, using the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) global online repository of FBDG and structured Google searches. The authors examine how different countries and expert groups set intake targets across various life stages. The most common recommended intake for adults is about 250 mg/day of EPA + DHA, while pregnant women are often advised to take an additional 100–200 mg/day of DHA.
The review reveals considerable variation in how nations provide guidance: not all life stages are equally covered, and supplement advice or warnings about high intakes differ widely. Importantly, achieving the recommended intake can be a challenge for many populations due to the low consumption of these omega-3s, mainly from seafood. To bridge the gap, the authors highlight the need for more accessible and sustainable sources, such as bio-enriched foods or supplements. These insights are useful not only for nutrition researchers but also for public health officials, food industry stakeholders, and consumers looking to optimise their omega-3 intake.
To access the full review, please visit here.
The IUNS Task Force on Sustainable Diets has published a review on the Journal of Nutritional Science.
This review explores what makes a diet truly “sustainable” and why this idea is more complex than simply choosing foods with a low environmental impact. The authors show that sustainable diets sit at the intersection of health, the environment, culture, and affordability. They describe how thinking in this area has expanded over time, from focusing mainly on environmental impact, to recognising that diets must also be nutritious, culturally meaningful, and realistic for people to follow.
The review highlights new approaches shaping global discussions, such as the EAT–Lancet Planetary Health Diet and the SHARP model. It also explains why applying these ideas is not always straightforward, especially in countries where food choices are strongly influenced by limited resources or local food availability. Examples from different regions, including the Mediterranean and African Indigenous food traditions, show how diverse communities have their own sustainable eating patterns rooted in local culture and ecology.
Overall, the authors argue that there is no single sustainable diet that works everywhere. Instead, many possible pathways exist, each shaped by local contexts. They emphasise the need for fair policies, supportive food systems, better ways to measure sustainability, and approaches that involve communities directly. Sustainable diets, they suggest, can help drive progress toward global health and environmental goals.
The full review online for free can be accessed here.
The German Nutrition Society published a position paper that elucidates the significance of dairy (cow’s milk and products produced from it) in dietary habits and provides a contextual framework for the comparison of plant-based milk alternatives (PBMA) with cow’s milk in regard to the dimensions of a more sustainable diet, primarily health and environmental impact.
Dairy is a common component of the diet in Germany, providing essential nutrients, particularly calcium, iodine, vitamin B 12 and riboflavin, and exerting other beneficial effects on human health. The nutrient profiles of PBMA differ considerably from that of cow’s milk, particularly in the absence of fortification with nutrients. The bioavailability of added nutrients can vary. PBMA contain less saturated fatty acids than cow’s milk and no cholesterol, but some contain phytochemicals and fibre. The heterogeneity of PBMA complicates the drawing of any definitive conclusions related to health.
Production of animal-source foods has a considerable environmental impact. On average, PBMA have lower values for greenhouse gas emissions, water and land use than cow’s milk.
Given the beneficial effects of dairy on human health, the DGE recommends for adults daily about 2 servings. For individuals who consume minimal or no dairy or who exceed the recommended intake, the DGE advocates the use of PBMA. This contributes to reducing the diet-induced impact on the environment. When choosing PBMA, it is crucial to consider the fortification with essential nutrients (particularly calcium, iodine, vitamin B 12 and riboflavin) or to ensure the intake of these nutrients from alternative sources. This is particularly relevant for individuals who opt for PBMA instead of cow’s milk, either partially or entirely.
A letter also addresses critical nutrients in sustainable diets and their fortification in PBMA. Besides this, it indicates nutrient intakes (especially iodine) and status of individuals with different levels of exclusion of animal-based foods in their diet. In conclusion, greater emphasis should be placed on nutrients in PBMA beyond calcium only, especially iodine.
Free access to position statementhttps://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/stellungnahmen-und-positionspapiere/positionen/dairy-and-milk-alternatives/DOI 10.4455/eu.2024.043
Letter DOI 10.1159/000548487
FAO has recently launched a report on the Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security. This biennial flagship report provides comprehensive evidence on the escalating impact of disasters on global agricultural systems. It also highlights how digital technologies are transforming how farmers, governments, and communities can monitor risks, anticipate impacts, and protect livelihoods.
Enhanced methodologies for assessing disaster impacts across crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture subsector are introduced in The 2025 edition of the report introduces, which offer FAO Member States robust data for evidence-based policymaking. This edition provides actionable recommendations for integrating disaster risk reduction into agricultural policies and investments through digital innovations to align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The report also demostrates how technology is revolutionising agricultural risk management, from AI-powered early warning systems to mobile-based insurance reaching millions of smallholder farmers.
While addressing the digital divide that leaves 2.6 billion people offline, the report also emphasises putting farmers at the centre to design solutions with them but not only for them. Through compelling cases and actionable frameworks, the report provides a roadmap for building resilient agricultural systems capable of feeding the world under mounting climate risks.
This publication is an essential resource for governments, development partners, and stakeholders working to build resilient agrifood systems in the face of climate change and increasing disaster risks.