Allison A. Yates, PhD, RD Director Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center USDA/ARS  Beltsville, MD Research Needs to Support Food-based Dietary Guidance in an Era of Over-Nutrition Tetrapartite Meeting, June 2008

Overview of food and nutrition research at ARS Human Nutrition Action Plan Research issues on the agenda Today’s Discussion

Human Nutrition Research -- $85 M Six human nutrition research centers — Houston TX & Baylor University: children — Boston MA & Tufts University: aging — Little Rock AR & Arkansas Children’s Hosp.: early nutrition (para-conceptional) — Grand Forks Univ. No. Dakota: rural concerns — Davis Univ. Calif at Davis: chronic disease — Beltsville BARC: adults; nutrition monitoring Other specific ARS locations

ARS Human Nutrition Research Program Customers Other governmental food and nutrition action agencies — USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) – Food Stamp Program; WIC Food Program; MyPyramid Food Guide — USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) — National Institutes of Health – Methods to estimate food intake and dietary patterns when correlating diet and risk of disease, – Nutrient Database; Dietary Supplement Database – Polyphenol studies related to chronic disease risk factor reduction — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): scientific basis of nutrition regulations Dietary Guidelines for Americans – Joint USDA/DHHS Commodity trade associations, food processors Advocacy groups improving the health of vulnerable groups

ARS Human Nutrition Mission To improve the nutrition and health of the American people by enhancing the quality of the American diet and improving related health behaviors through research From the Action Plan: National Program 107 — Human Nutrition

Human Nutrition Action Plan Four Components Nutrition Monitoring and the Food Supply Scientific Basis for Dietary Guidance for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Prevention of Obesity and Related Diseases Life Stage Nutrition and Metabolism

Steps to Develop Action Plan Led by National Program Staff Review of past 5 years of overall research by external review group Workshop with stakeholders (customers), laboratory scientists, and invited academics Purpose: identify needed research areas for future investment Action plan developed with overall themes Put out for comment prior to finalization

Use of Action Plan National program staff develop objectives for 5 years for scientists given their expertise and priority areas in plan Scientists develop outline of future research projects--- approved by Center directors, Area directors, finally National Program staff Scientists submit full proposal for 5-year period addressing objectives and describing gaps to be filled, research plans, collaborations identified Plans evaluated by blinded external reviewer panels to determine if proposed research is sound

Major Issues in Nutrition Evolution from public health directives for nutrition guidance to individualized personal nutrition recommendations — New methods to detect specific risk factors for chronic diseases Emerging role of immune response/inflammatory disease as intermediary in expression of chronic disease (CVD, diabetes, cancer, obesity) Investigation of the health-promoting properties of foods---when are other food components considered nutrients?

Dietary Guidelines Versus RDAs Conceptually Dietary Guidelines: Qualitative advice to the public about diet and chronic disease prevention Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs): professionals Quantitative advice to professionals about amounts of nutrients or food components found to be of benefit

Major Issues in Nutrition Obesity Causation and Prevention — Physiological contributors — Social context — Environmental contributors

? Obesity Trends* in the U.S.: % of Adults with BMI  30 by State No Data < 10% 10-14% 15-19% 20-24% 25-29%  30% Obesity Research at Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center--- Stemming the Epidemic (* or about 30 lbs overweight for 5’4” person; Source, BRFSS, CDC ) Beltsville has the only USDA human studies facility with three live-in calorimeters to evaluate energy metabolism and the effect of various foods & exercise on body weight and energy regulation When will the U.S. turn completely red? Can dairy products assist in weight loss? BHNRC scientists find that whey protein maintains muscle mass and may decrease body fat Does dietary fiber increase satiety, helping in weight management? BHNRC scientists found that barley fiber increased satiety in women Weight maintenance = energy intake – energy expenditure, or does it? What causes insulin resistance? How much is heredity, and how much is the environment?