The opportunity
Several specific priority areas in nutrition research have been identified by various federal and nongovernmental organizations. However, most have not been adequately addressed. Greater federal coordination and investment in nutrition research could accelerate discoveries across these critical areas (Figure 2).
FIGURE 2  Opportunities for enhanced federal nutrition research coordination and investment. DGAs, Dietary Guidelines for Americans; DoD, Department of Defense; NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; SNAP-Ed, USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education; USAID, US Agency for International Development; VA, Department of Veterans Affairs. Graphic design support courtesy of Ink&Pixel Agency. Several lines of evidence support a strong return on investment (ROI) for an expanded and coordinated nutrition research effort. As stated by the FDA Commissioner in 2018 at the National Food Policy Conference, “Improvements in diet and nutrition offer us one of our greatest opportunities to have a profound and generational impact on human health .… The public health gains of such efforts would almost certainly dwarf any single medical innovation or intervention we could discover.”