Optimum nutrition plays a major role in the achievement and maintenance of good health. The Nutrition Society of the UK and Ireland and the Sabri Ülker Foundation, a charity based in Türkiye and focused on improving public health, combined forces to highlight this important subject. A hybrid conference was held in Istanbul, with over 4000 delegates from sixty-two countries joining the proceedings live online in addition to those attending in person. The primary purpose was to inspire healthcare professionals and nutrition policy makers to better consider the role of nutrition in their interactions with patients and the public at large to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. The event provided an opportunity to share and learn from different approaches in the UK, Türkiye and Finland, highlighting initiatives to strengthen research in the nutritional sciences and translation of that research into nutrition policy. The presenters provided evidence of the links between nutrition and disease risk and emphasised the importance of minimising risk and implementing early treatment of diet-related disease. Suggestions were made including improving health literacy and strengthening policies to improve the quality of food production and dietary behaviour. A multidisciplinary approach is needed whereby Governments, the food industry, non-governmental groups and consumer groups collaborate to develop evidence-based recommendations and appropriate joined-up policies that do not widen inequalities. This summary of the proceedings will serve as a gateway for those seeking to access additional information on nutrition and health across the globe.

Ulcerative pododermatitis or sore hocks is a common condition in adult rabbits housed in cages with wire-mesh floors. This study was carried out on a recently-opened commercial farm with 224 breeding cages (112 without footrests [NFR] and 112 with footrests [FR]) to assess the effect of footrests on the incidence of sore hocks (SH) and plantar hyperkeratosis (K) on domestic rabbit does, throughout the first part of their productive lives. The accumulated incidence of SH in the fifth lactation was 71.5 and 15.1% for NFR and FR groups, respectively and the accumulated incidence of K, at the same point, was 100 and 64.5%. The footrests were also found to have a curative effect on 81.3% of affected does. Clinical and epidemiological information obtained in this study revealed that the installation of a plastic platform or slatted footrest on the wire mesh played a significant role in the prevention and cure of sore hocks. Problems specifically related to cage hygiene and cleanliness were not addressed in this study.

The human health benefits of cardiometabolic disease prevention can be accompanied by planetary co-benefits. Focusing efforts towards young people, including children and adolescents, is conducive to disease prevention. In the context of cardiometabolic disease prevention, this review paper critically summarises the available literature on the acute cardiometabolic responses to physical activity and breakfast manipulations among young people. Given the seriousness of global climate change, which will disproportionally affect our younger generations, this review paper offers new insights into the inherent interactions between child–adolescent behaviour and cardiometabolic health from an environmental sustainability perspective to aid climate change mitigation efforts, including exploring future research avenues. A growing evidence base suggests acute moderate- to high-intensity exercise bouts can attenuate postprandial plasma glucose, insulin and triacylglycerol concentrations for up to 24–48 h in young people. Whether accumulating physical activity throughout the day with short, frequent bouts promotes cardiometabolic risk marker attenuations is unclear. Breakfast consumption may enhance free-living physical activity and reduce glycaemic responses to subsequent meals for a possible additive impact. If repeated habitually, attenuations in these cardiometabolic risk factors would be conducive to disease prevention, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with disease diagnosis and treatment. To progress current understanding with high public health and planetary relevance, research among samples of ‘at risk’ young people that span cellular-level responses to ecologically valid settings and address human and planetary health co-benefits is needed. Indeed, certain physical activity opportunities, such as active travel to school, offer important direct co-benefits to humans and planetary health.

The Murcia Twin Registry (MTR) is the only population-based registry in Spain. Created in 2006, the registry has been growing more than a decade to become one of the references for twin research in the Mediterranean region. The MTR database currently comprises 3545 adult participants born between 1940 and 1977. It also holds a recently launched satellite registry of university students (N = 204). Along five waves of data collection, the registry has gathered questionnaire and anthropometric data, as well as biological samples. The MTR keeps its main research focus on health and health-related behaviors from a public health perspective. This includes lifestyle, health promotion, quality of life or environmental conditions. Future short-term development points to the expansion of the biobank and the continuation of the collection of longitudinal data.

The Brazilian Twin Registry (BTR) was established in 2013 and has impelled twin research in South America. The main aim of the initiative was to create a resource that would be accessible to the Brazilian scientific community as well as international researchers interested in the investigation of the contribution of genetic and environmental factors in the development of common diseases, phenotypes, and human behavior traits. The BTR is a joint effort between academic and governmental institutions from Brazil and Australia. The collaboration includes the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil, the University of Sydney and University of Melbourne in Australia, the Australian Twin Registry, as well as the research foundations CNPq and CAPES in Brazil. The BTR is a member of the International Network of Twin Registries. Recruitment strategies used to register twins have been through participation in a longitudinal study investigating genetic and environmental factors for low back pain occurrence, and from a variety of sources including media campaigns and social networking. Currently, 291 twins are registered in the BTR, with data on demographics, zygosity, anthropometrics, and health history having been collected from 151 twins using a standardized self-reported questionnaire. Future BTR plans include the registration of thousands of Brazilian twins identified from different sources and collaborate nationally and internationally with other research groups interested on twin studies.

The ability of live yeasts to modulate pig intestinal cell signals in response to infection with Escherichia coli F4ac (ETEC) has not been studied in-depth. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-4407 (Sc), supplied at different times, on the transcriptome profile of the jejunal mucosa of pigs 24 h after infection with ETEC. In total, 20 piglets selected to be ETEC-susceptible were weaned at 24 days of age (day 0) and allotted by litter to one of following groups: control (CO), CO+colistin (AB), CO+5×1010 colony-forming unit (CFU) Sc/kg feed, from day 0 (PR) and CO+5×1010 CFU Sc/kg feed from day 7 (CM). On day 7, the pigs were orally challenged with ETEC and were slaughtered 24 h later after blood sampling for haptoglobin (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP) determination. The jejunal mucosa was sampled (1) for morphometry; (2) for quantification of proliferation, apoptosis and zonula occludens (ZO-1); (3) to carry out the microarray analysis. A functional analysis was carried out using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. The normalized enrichment score (NES) was calculated for each gene set, and statistical significance was defined when the False Discovery Rate % was <25 and P-values of NES were <0.05. The blood concentration of CRP and Hp, and the score for ZO-1 integrity on the jejunal villi did not differ between groups. The intestinal crypts were deeper in the AB (P=0.05) and the yeast groups (P<0.05) than in the CO group. Antibiotic treatment increased the number of mitotic cells in intestinal villi as compared with the control group (P<0.05). The PR group tended to increase the mitotic cells in villi and crypts and tended to reduce the cells in apoptosis as compared with the CM group. The transcriptome profiles of the AB and PR groups were similar. In both groups, the gene sets involved in mitosis and in mitochondria development ranked the highest, whereas in the CO group, the gene sets related to cell junction and anion channels were affected. In the CM group, the gene sets linked to the metabolic process, and transcription ranked the highest; a gene set linked with a negative effect on growth was also affected. In conclusion, the constant supplementation in the feed with the strain of yeast tested was effective in counteracting the detrimental effect of ETEC infection in susceptible pigs limits the early activation of the gene sets related to the impairment of the jejunal mucosa.

Disease prevention through biosecurity measures is believed to be an important factor for improvement of the overall health status in animal production. This study aimed at assessing the levels of implementation of biosecurity measures in pig production in four European Union (EU) countries and to describe possible associations between the biosecurity level and farm and production characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 232 farrow-to-finish pig herds in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden between December 2012 and December 2013. The biosecurity status in each of these herds was described and quantified by using the risk-based scoring tool Biocheck.UGentTM (www.biocheck.ugent.be). Production and management characteristics, obtained from the herd management system and by interviewing the farmer, were analysed for their association with the biosecurity level. A causal path was designed to study statistical associations. The results showed that there was substantial room for improvement in the biosecurity status on many pig farms. Significant differences (P<0.01) both in internal and external biosecurity levels were observed between countries. The external biosecurity status, combining all measures taken to prevent disease introduction into the herd, was highest in Germany and lowest in France. The internal biosecurity status, combining all measures taken to prevent within herd disease transmission, was highest in Sweden and lowest, with a large variation, in Belgium. External biosecurity scores were in general higher compared to internal biosecurity scores. The number of pathogens vaccinated against was significantly associated with internal biosecurity status, suggesting an overall more preventive approach towards the risk of disease transmission. A higher external biosecurity was associated with more weaned piglets per sow per year. Furthermore also the weaning age and the mortality till weaning were highly associated with the number of weaned piglets per sow per year. The negative association observed between the biosecurity level and the estimated frequency of treatment against certain clinical signs of disease as a proxy for disease incidence is consistent with the hypothesis that a higher biosecurity level results in healthier animals. These findings promote an improved biosecurity status at pig farms and are of relevance in the discussion on alternative ways to keep animals healthy with a reduced necessity of antimicrobials; Prevention is better than cure!

Consumption of olive oil within the Mediterranean diet has been long known to have many health benefits. However, only over the last decade has epidemiological research confirmed its protective role against developing several chronic diseases. The objective of this review was to give an overview of the state of art epidemiological evidence concerning the relationship between olive oil and key public health outcomes including mortality, CVD, diabetes, metabolic syndrome (MetS), obesity and cancer, with a particular focus on recent results from cohort studies and dietary intervention trials. Recent epidemiological research has shown that regular consumption of olive oil is associated with increased longevity. This benefit is partly due to the olive oil's unequivocal cardio-protective role. There is converging evidence on the benefits of olive oil for preventing several CVD risk factors, including diabetes, MetS and obesity. Olive oil is also implicated in preventing certain cancers, with the most promising findings for breast and digestive tract cancers, although the data are still not entirely consistent and mainly from case–control studies. These health benefits are supported by strong mechanistic evidence from experimental studies, demonstrating that specific components of olive oil have antihypertensive, antithrombotic, antioxidant, antiinflammatory and anticarcinogenic action. Despite the accumulating epidemiological research, there is still a lack of consistent results from high-quality studies for many health outcomes (i.e. certain cancers and metabolism-related disorders). Further research is mandatory, above all from prospective studies and randomised dietary intervention trials when feasible, to confirm some of the still potential health benefits.

Personalised nutrition (PN) has the potential to reduce disease risk and optimise health and performance. Although previous research has shown good acceptance of the concept of PN in the UK, preferences regarding the delivery of a PN service (e.g. online v. face-to-face) are not fully understood. It is anticipated that the presence of a free at point of delivery healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), in the UK may have an impact on end-user preferences for deliverances. To determine this, supplementary analysis of qualitative data obtained from focus group discussions on PN service delivery, collected as part of the Food4Me project in the UK and Ireland, was undertaken. Irish data provided comparative analysis of a healthcare system that is not provided free of charge at the point of delivery to the entire population. Analyses were conducted using the ‘framework approach’ described by Rabiee (Focus-group interview and data analysis. Proc Nutr Soc 63, 655-660). There was a preference for services to be led by the government and delivered face-to-face, which was perceived to increase trust and transparency, and add value. Both countries associated paying for nutritional advice with increased commitment and motivation to follow guidelines. Contrary to Ireland, however, and despite the perceived benefit of paying, UK discussants still expected PN services to be delivered free of charge by the NHS. Consideration of this unique challenge of free healthcare that is embedded in the NHS culture will be crucial when introducing PN to the UK.

Improving diet and other lifestyle behaviours has considerable potential for reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases, promoting better health across the life-course and increasing wellbeing. However, realising this potential will require the development, testing and implementation of much more effective behaviour change interventions than are used conventionally. Evidence-based, personalised (or stratified) interventions which incorporate effective behaviour change techniques (BCT) and which are delivered digitally are likely to be an important route to scalable and sustainable interventions. Progress in developing such interventions will depend on the outcomes of research on: (i) the best bases for personalisation of dietary advice; (ii) identification of BCT which are proven to enhance intervention efficacy; (iii) suitable platforms (digital-based tools) for collection of relevant participant characteristics (e.g. socioeconomic information, current diet and lifestyle and dietary preferences) linked with intelligent systems which use those characteristics to offer tailored feedback and advice in a cost-effective and acceptable manner. Future research should focus on such interventions aiming to reduce health inequalities and to improve overall public health.

It is predicted that non-communicable diseases will account for over 73 % of global mortality in 2020. Given that the majority of these deaths occur in developed countries such as the UK, and that up to 80 % of chronic disease could be prevented through improvements in diet and lifestyle, it is imperative that dietary guidelines and disease prevention strategies are reviewed in order to improve their efficacy. Since the completion of the human genome project our understanding of complex interactions between environmental factors such as diet and genes has progressed considerably, as has the potential to individualise diets using dietary, phenotypic and genotypic data. Thus, there is an ambition for dietary interventions to move away from population-based guidance towards ‘personalised nutrition’. The present paper reviews current evidence for the public acceptance of genetic testing and personalised nutrition in disease prevention. Health and clear consumer benefits have been identified as key motivators in the uptake of genetic testing, with individuals reporting personal experience of disease, such as those with specific symptoms, being more willing to undergo genetic testing for the purpose of personalised nutrition. This greater perceived susceptibility to disease may also improve motivation to change behaviour which is a key barrier in the success of any nutrition intervention. Several consumer concerns have been identified in the literature which should be addressed before the introduction of a nutrigenomic-based personalised nutrition service. Future research should focus on the efficacy and implementation of nutrigenomic-based personalised nutrition.

The Murcia Twin Registry (MTR) was created in 2006, under the auspices of the University of Murcia and the regional Health Authority, aiming to develop a research resource in Spain intended to stimulate current research and new investigation on the analysis of genetic factors related to health and health-related behaviors. The MTR development strategy was designed as a step-by-step process. Initially, it was focused on women's health but nowadays it includes males and opposite-sex twins. The database comprises 2,281 participants born between 1940 and 1966 in the region of Murcia, in Spain. There have been three waves of data collection and today the MTR databases include questionnaire and anthropometric data as well as biological samples. The current main areas of research interest are health and health-related behaviors, including lifestyle, health promotion, and quality of life. Future short-term development points to the completion of the biobank and continuing the collection of longitudinal data.

Evolutionary medicine acknowledges that many chronic degenerative diseases result from conflicts between our rapidly changing environment, our dietary habits included, and our genome, which has remained virtually unchanged since the Palaeolithic era. Reconstruction of the diet before the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions is therefore indicated, but hampered by the ongoing debate on our ancestors' ecological niche. Arguments and their counterarguments regarding evolutionary medicine are updated and the evidence for the long-reigning hypothesis of human evolution on the arid savanna is weighed against the hypothesis that man evolved in the proximity of water. Evidence from various disciplines is discussed, including the study of palaeo-environments, comparative anatomy, biogeochemistry, archaeology, anthropology, (patho)physiology and epidemiology. Although our ancestors had much lower life expectancies, the current evidence does neither support the misconception that during the Palaeolithic there were no elderly nor that they had poor health. Rather than rejecting the possibility of ‘healthy ageing’, the default assumption should be that healthy ageing posed an evolutionary advantage for human survival. There is ample evidence that our ancestors lived in a land–water ecosystem and extracted a substantial part of their diets from both terrestrial and aquatic resources. Rather than rejecting this possibility by lack of evidence, the default assumption should be that hominins, living in coastal ecosystems with catchable aquatic resources, consumed these resources. Finally, the composition and merits of so-called ‘Palaeolithic diets’, based on different hominin niche-reconstructions, are evaluated. The benefits of these diets illustrate that it is time to incorporate this knowledge into dietary recommendations.

The following review aims to gain more insight into farm management in European poultry farms, to identify prevalent risk factors for the introduction of avian influenza (AI) and to develop a procedure to assess a farms risk status. Data on farm management were gathered by using questionnaires and visitor books in 343 farms in Austria, Germany, and The Netherlands. In addition, the farmers documented private and production related visitors for 30 days in a logbook. To evaluate the results, an international expert panel defined and weighted the most important risk factors for AI introduction at farm level within a three-stage Delphi study. Based on this evaluation, all farms were assigned to three classes of risk. To communicate the results to the farmers as comprehensible as possible, a traffic-light scheme was used. The highest risk class represented poultry farms with a high potential for AIV introduction.

Following the high-profile studies on hormone replacement therapy which provided little evidence in support of the drug therapy improving future health, there remains a growing demand for dietary solutions for maintaining health and preventing disease as women age. Although interest in the relative importance of phyto-oestrogens to human health has increased dramatically over the last decade, the effective dose for health benefits and hypothetical issues on safety remain to be resolved. Plausible mechanisms and epidemiological data are available to support the concept that phyto-oestrogen-rich diets exert physiological effects, but optimal doses and sources of these compounds have still not been elucidated for specific health benefits. In addition, much of the current mechanistic data are difficult to interpret as the experiments have incorporated levels of phyto-oestrogens that may not be achievable in vivo and have to date only used aglycones and glycosides of the pure compounds rather than examining the biological effects of gut and liver metabolites. The present review will concentrate on the isoflavone subclass of phyto-oestrogens, as, to date, these compounds have received most attention from both a commercial and research perspective.

The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (for example, cardiovascular disorders, type 2 diabetes and cancer) is rampant in Western societies, accounting for approximately 60 % of all causes of death. A large proportion of non-communicable diseases can be prevented through appropriate diets and lifestyles. Accordingly, several health authorities and regulatory bodies are assessing the nutritional profiles of food items and whole diets, to implement guidelines aimed at improving the diet of the general population. While a global approach is desirable, the need of individuals to maintain their distinct dietary habits must also be taken into account. The portion sizes of food as well as pattern of food consumption, for example during or between the main meals, are very important in determining the nutritional profile of a diet. A novel method to assess the nutritional profile of foods is being proposed and made available on-line. Its main innovative aspects are (1) the comprehensive manner with which the system analyses and computes a great range of features of individual food items and (2) the distinction among eating occasions, namely during or in-between the main meals. Moreover, this approach allows for rapid modification and great flexibility to suit individual needs and gastronomic habits.

The metalloid Se is ubiquitous in soils, but exists mainly in insoluble forms in high-Fe, low-pH and certain leached soils, and hence is often of limited availability to plants. Consequently, it is often supplied by plants to animals and human consumers at levels too low for optimum health. Se deficiency and suboptimality are manifested in populations as increased rates of thyroid dysfunction, cancer, severe viral diseases, cardiovascular disease and various inflammatory conditions. Se deficiency probably affects at least a billion individuals. Optimal cancer protection appears to require a supra-nutritional Se intake, and involves several mechanisms, which include promotion of apoptosis and inhibition of neo-angiogenesis. Evidence suggests that in some regions Se is declining in the food chain, and new strategies to increase its intake are required. These could include education to increase consumption of higher-Se foods, individual supplementation, food fortification, supplementation of livestock, Se fertilisation of crops and plant breeding for enhanced Se accumulation. Se levels in Australian residents and wheat appear to be above the global estimated mean. Wheat is estimated to supply nearly half the Se utilised by most Australians. Increasing the Se content of wheat represents a food systems approach that would increase population intake, with consequent probable improvement in public health and large health cost savings. The strategies that show most promise to achieve this are biofortification by Se fertilisation and breeding wheat varieties that are more efficient at increasing grain Se density. Research is needed in Australia to determine the most cost-effective fertilisation methods, and to determine the extent of genetic variability for grain Se accumulation. Before recommending large-scale fortification of the food supply with Se, it will be necessary to await the results of current intervention studies with Se on cancer, HIV and AIDS, and asthma.