Many European and other governments struggle with the societal and economic consequences of the alarming rise in chronic diet-related diseases. An increasing amount of people consume an unhealthy diet which is unbalanced and unsustainable. This puts people’s health status at risk and creates a significant pressure on the environment. At the same time, in many countries the population is ageing and this increases the incidence of malnutrition including underweight and micro deficiencies in the growing older population. Science has brought us valuable insights which can support society in moving towards a healthier and sustainable diet. Appropriate nutrition can reduce the risk of chronic disease. However, there are still crucial gaps in our knowledge that will enable policy-makers to tackle the societal challenge of nutrition and health such as the need:
- To better understand the interplay of biological, psychological and social factors,
- For more insight on the relationship between diet and disease, e.g. the relationship between diet and several types of cancer,
- To change consumer behaviours, as science has shown that education about healthy food is not enough to change behaviour,
Within the JPI A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life, governments are collaborating voluntarily to increase the impact of research investments that provide insight to underpin healthier societies. The main objectives of the CSA JPI HDHL 2.0 are to support the further implementation of JPI HDHL and to create a sustainable collaboration of Member States (MS), the European Commission (EC) and related international organisations. Support facilitated by this CSA will ensure sufficient progress on alignment and also on the ethos of joint programming in the area of food, nutrition and health becoming embedded within Member States’ research and innovation policies and programmes. The 2nd CSA focuses specifically on these issues and takes into account foresight and evaluation activities as important aspects for the future of research in the scientific and policy areas covered within the JPI HDHL.