Institute of Medicine and its Food
and Nutrition Board –Interface of
Science and Policy
APLU Board on Human Sciences
2010 Spring Meeting, February 24, 2010
Linda D Meyers, PhD
Director, Food and Nutrition Board
IOM At-a-Glance
• Established in 1970 under
NAS charter
• Private, independent
nonprofit – not
government
• 1600 elected members
• 150+ program staff
• 40+ published reports
yearly
• Depend on work of
volunteers
IOM Activities
include…
• Consensus Committee
Studies
• Workshops
• Forums/Roundtables
• Planning Meetings
• Fellowship Programs
Fellowships
Robert Wood Johnson Health
Policy Fellowship
http://healthpolicyfellows.org
Christine Mirzayan Science and
Technology Policy Fellow
http://www7.nationalacademies
.org/policyfellows/
Or national-academies.org/
or www.nas.edu scroll down to
Career Links on the left
IOM Boards
Population Health and
Public Health Practice
Health Sciences Policy
Health Care Services
Rose Marie Martinez
Director
Andrew M. Pope
Director
Roger Herdman
Director
Global Health
Food and Nutrition
Children, Youth,
and Families
Patrick W. Kelley
Director
African Science Academy
Development
Patrick W. Kelley
Director
Linda D. Meyers
Director
Health of Select Populations
Rick Erdtmann
Director
Rosemary Chalk
Director
Health Policy Educational
Programs and Fellowships
Marie E. Michnich
Program Director
Food and Nutrition Board
Dennis M. Bier, MD (Chair)
Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor
College of Medicine
Diane Birt, PhD
Center for Research on Dietary
Botanical Supplements, Iowa State
Yvonne Bronner, ScD
Schl Public Health & Policy, Morgan State
J. Glenn Morris, MD, MPH&TM
Emerging Pathogens Institute, Florida
Suzanne Murphy, PhD, RD
Cancer Research Center, University of Hawaii
Jose Ordovas, PhD
Nutrition and Genomics, Nutrition Research
Center on Aging, Tufts
Fergus M. Clydesdale, PhD
Food Science, U Massachusetts—Amherst
Jim Riviere, DVM. PhD
Chemical Toxicology Research and
Pharmacokinetics, NC State
Gordon L. Jensen, MD, PhD
Nutritional Sciences, Penn State
Patrick J Stover, PhD
Nutritional Sciences (head and gneomics),
Cornell University
Susan T. Mayne, PhD
Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale Sch Med Walter C Willett, MD, Dr.PH
Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard School of
Public Health
Sanford A Miller PhD
Jt Inst. Food Safety and Applied Nutr.,
Linda Meyers, Ph.D. (Director)
University of Maryland
FNB -- Focus Areas
•
Diet and Health
– Dietary Reference Intakes
– Obesity prevention in children
– Military nutrition research
– Nutrition programs
• Food Quality and Safety
– Risk relationships
– Framework to evaluate safety
Domestic and International
Dietary Reference Intakes
www.nap.edu
www.iom.edu/dri
Impact – Dietary Reference Intakes
Science standard for federal nutrition guidance
– HHS/USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans
– USDA MyPyramid
– Health Canada Canadian Food Guide
Statutory or De Facto standard for assistance programs
– 4 official USDA food plans
–
–
–
–
Food stamp allotments/
WIC food packages
DOD service members
Standard of comparison for USDA review of food distribution programs on
Indian Reservations
Basis for nutritional standards of many other countries
Uses in everyday life
– By divorce courts to set alimony payments
– By bankruptcy courts to determine income for food expenses
Obesity-Related
Reports
• Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance (2005)
• Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?
(2006)
• Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We
Measure Up? (2007)
• Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way
Toward Healthier Youth (2007)
• Public Health Effects of Food Deserts: Workshop Summary
(2009)
• Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines
(2009)
• School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Youth (2009)
• Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity
(2009)
Current Obesity Prevention
Activities
• Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity
Prevention
• A Framework for Decision-Making for Obesity
Prevention (spring 2010)
• Obesity Prevention Policies for Young Children
(early 2011)
• Partner with NIH and CDC on The HBO Obesity
Project
To Watch For
• Workshop Summary: Nutrition Effects of Global Food
Crisis * (available now)
• Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake (April 2010)
• FDA Role in Ensuring Safe Food* (~May 2010)
• DRI for Vitamin D and Calcium (~July 2010)
• Nutrition Standards for Child and Adult Day Care Food
Programs (Fall 2010)
• Nutrition, Trauma, and the Brain (2011)
*collaborative with another Board(s)
Challenge Areas
• Future of Nutrition and Food Sciences
• Nutrition and Older People
– E.g., Community–based nutrition services for older people
• Nutrition in Health Care
– E.g., Personalized nutrition, e.g., drug-nutrient interactions
• Emerging Sciences
– Nanotechnology
– Epigenetics
Thank you!
For more information:
www.iom.edu/fnb