Nutrition for Public Health: From Research to Policy

About

Diet and nutrition are key determinants of human and planetary health, healthy growth, and chronic conditions. Whether it is a lack of healthy food intake, too much unhealthy food intake, or the quality and variety of diets, poor diet and nutrition are associated with many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and disabilities that lead to health system burden, excess morbidity and mortality, poorer quality of life, and other social and financial challenges. In order to design policies and interventions that reduce the burdens of nutrition related problems, public health practitioners, scientists, and policymakers must understand the evidence related to nutrition and disease. They also must understand how the assessment of diet and nutrition is conducted and interpreted.

This course will introduce participants to diet-disease relationships, the quality of the available evidence, and relevance across cultures and settings. The course will offer a comprehensive overview of contemporary issues in nutrition science, public health, and diet-related policy. Participants will gain critical skills for evaluating the literature on nutritional research, understanding the complex relationship between diet and NCDs, and applying practical methods for dietary assessment. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and evaluation of real-world cases, participants will gain skills to assess and interpret nutritional data and understand the impact of nutrition in various settings.

Course leader

Dr. Patricia O. Chocano-Bedoya (University of Bern); Pedro Marques-Vidal (University of Lausanne)

Target group

Practitioners, researchers, and graduate students

Course aim

By the end of the course participants will:
- Critically evaluate nutritional research papers and understand methodologies used in dietary studies;
- Explain the connections between dietary habits and the development or prevention of NCDs;
- Apply diverse dietary assessment tools and interpret their results with regard to their validity;
- Recognize and address malnutrition in diverse settings, including understanding its prevalence, consequences, and appropriate management strategies.

Fee info

Discounts are available for PhD and Master’s students, participants from UMICs and LMICs, and members of LSS partner institutions (USI, SUPSI, Swiss TPH, and SSPH+). For details on fees and available discounts, contact us at info@ssph-lugano-summerschool.ch or visit our website.