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Meet the NNEdPro Core Team! What does NNEdPro mean to you? What is your motivation to be involved in NNEdPro? What do you think is the future of NNEdPro? The responses helped us gain an insight into the drivers behind our shared mission and vision, which we have summarised in our CN article: Behind the Scenes @ 10 years But don’t just read about us – come meet us in person during NNEdPro Nutrition Week 2018! The NNEdPro Core Team are integral to our annual Summer School and International Summit and will be there to answer your questions in person. Are you a professional or student with an interest in nutrition? Then our Summer School in Applied Human Nutrition from 14th-18th July 2018 is for you! Read more on the University of Cambridge Institute for Continuing Education website including how to register. The 4th Annual NNEdPro International Summit incorporates a Members and Stakeholders Global Strategy Workshop on 19th July, which is by invitation only, and our International Conference on Medical and Public Health Nutrition Education and Research on 20th July. #Summit #NutritionEvent #medicaleducation #NNEdProWeek #NNEdProWeek2018 #SummerSchool #CN #nnedpro10

Taking place from 5-9 July 2019, here we outline 10 reasons to attend the the Summer School in Applied Human Nutrition! The course is a unique, intensive programme that covers basic nutritional concepts, through current research and methods, to prevention, healthcare and policy applications. You will learn from a leading global faculty like no other! 40+ contact hours which includes a mix of learning methods including practical and interactive sessions, case studies, as well as self directed learning. 1:1 mentoring, which continues well after Summer School…. All attendees gain 1 year membership of the International Academy of Nutrition Educators which also includes mentoring. The opportunity to grow your nutrition knowledge network through networking events including a gala dinner and a social programme. The opportunity to gain a certificate and CPD for those suitably qualified. The experience of learning in the heart of the vibrant University of Cambridge at Homerton College Discounts including at the Summit on Medication Nutrition Education & ISNN Congress. Discount on BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health Article Publishing Charges. & much more! The NNEdPro Summer School in Applied Human Nutrition is delivered in strategic partnership with the University of Parma, School of Advanced Studies on Food and Nutrition. #nnedpro19 #nnedprosummerschool #nutritioneducation

“I think that More-2-Eat is just a start, and after the study is over we need to continue and that is something that speaks to me loud and clear, that this isn’t just something that stops after the study is over. We’ve got to keep going and figuring out how we can continue making it important, and that nutrition is important and that food is medicine.” – Dietitian & More-2-Eat Research Assistant Food is medicine. This statement is particularly relevant when 1 in 3 patients are already at risk of malnutrition on admission to hospital in the UK [1]. Following an extensive study by the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force on the prevalence of malnutrition, barriers to intake, etc., a consensus-based pathway for hospital nutrition care was developed. This algorithm, the Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care (INPAC) focuses on the prevention, detection and treatment of malnutrition [2]. To test INPAC in the real world, the More-2-Eat project was designed, that spanned five sites across Canada working towards implementing INPAC for one year. More-2-Eat was a great success and all five sites have integrated nutrition screening into their practice by using the subjective global assessment to triage at-risk patients and accurately monitor food intake. As a Key Collaborator on this project, NNEdPro is proud of announce the launch of the INPAC Implementation Toolkit! After months of consolidation, graphic design and collaboration, all of the resources used and practical learnings in this project are now online, available for open access by those interested in improving nutrition care in their practice. The toolkit focuses on “what” to do, highlighting all areas of INPAC. Understanding “how” to change practice is just as important as what to change, so the toolkit also includes sections on: More-2-Eat project is led by Prof Heather Keller, Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging and the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Canada. It is funded by Canadian Frailty Network (known previously as Technology Evaluation in the Elderly Network, TVN), supported by Government of Canada through Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program. Celia Laur, Co-Lead on NNEdPro Global Innovation Panel, is one of the main researchers on More-2-Eat and Prof Sumantra Ray and Pauline Douglas RD are Project co-Investigators along with assistance from Shivani Bhat in toolkit development. INPAC Implementation Toolkit: ACCESS NOW [1] Nutrition screening surveys in hospitals in the UK, 2007-2011,” BAPEN, accessed May 2017, http://www.bapen.org.uk/pdfs/nsw/bapen-nsw-uk.pdf, p.41 [2] Keller H, McCullough J, Davidson B, Vesnaver E, Laporte M, Gramlich L, et al. The Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care (INPAC): Building consensus with a modified Delphi. Nutrition J. 2015;14(63).

Globally, around 158 million bags of coffee are produced each year, with the Scandinavian nations, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Canada forming the top ten coffee drinking countries. [http://ico.org] So what, if any, are the health effects of our coffee consumption? Historically coffee was thought to have a negative effect on health by raising blood pressure but more recently research suggests that compounds in coffee, including polyphenols, are good for us, and there may be an association between coffee consumption and lowered risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Team NNEdPro set out to investigate – keep reading to find two of our outputs on link between coffee and health! Grosso G, Micek A, Godos J, Pajak A, Sciacca S, Bes-Rastrollo M, Galvano F, Martinez-Gonzalez MA. Long-Term Coffee Consumption Is Associated with Decreased Incidence of New-Onset Hypertension: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2017 Deputy Co-Lead of our Global Innovation Panel Giuseppe Grosso, based at the University of Catania, lead an analysis on the effect of coffee consumption on blood pressure. The analysis included seven cohort studies, involving more than 205,000 people – including nurses, post-menopausal women and post-graduates from across North America and Europe. The analysis found a linear association between drinking coffee and lowered risk of high blood pressure i.e. as we drink more coffee (up to 7 cups a day), the risk of developing high blood pressure appears to decrease. Good news for coffee lovers, but until further research is carried out on the effect of coffee on blood pressure we should stick to keeping salt intake low, aiming for a healthy weight and increasing our activity levels to keep blood pressure down. Godos, J., Micek, A., Marranzano, M., Salomone, F., Del Rio, D., Ray, S. Coffee consumption and risk of biliary tract cancers and liver cancer: A dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies (2017) Nutrients NNEdPro Directors Daniele Del Rio and Shumone Ray, led by NNEdPro Collaborator Justyna Godos, carried out an analysis of observational studies on the effect of coffee consumption on biliary tract cancers and liver cancer.  Five studies on biliary tract cancers, involving 1,375,626 participants, and thirteen studies on liver cancer, involving 2,105,104 participants, were included in the analysis. The findings showed that there was an inverse association between drinking coffee and liver cancer – as coffee consumption increases, the risk of developing liver cancer appears to decrease. However, no association was found between coffee consumption and biliary tract cancers, possibly due to the low number of studies investigating this and so more research is required to help draw out a conclusion. Overall then, some positive effects of coffee on health! These are just two our papers looking at coffee and health though – check out our Science Journals page for more studies and let us know what you think!

Contributors: Melissa Adamski, Eleanor Beck, Jennifer Crowley, Breanna Lepre, Rachael McLean & Alyce N Wilson Since January 2020, countries worldwide started recording cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Now six months later we have witnessed different strategies of tackling the virus with varied effectiveness. With Australia and New Zealand both considered to have successfully flattened the curve, we thought we would give you an overview of our experiences from down under. At the time of publication, New Zealand has not recorded any new cases of local transmission of COVID19 for several weeks and has been basically declared ‘covid free’, even though there have been a number of cases caught at the border. Across the ditch in Australia, the number of new cases identified has rapidly decreased, with the majority of new cases being from returning travellers and detected whilst in quarantine. However, recently the state of Victoria in Australia has demonstrated just how precarious the situation is, with several local outbreaks across metropolitan Melbourne. New Zealand is in the fortunate position of being able to remove almost all lockdown restrictions, whilst restrictions continue to be eased considerably across most of Australia. Both Australia and New Zealand still maintain strict border controls that include limiting all overseas visitors, and strict quarantine for citizens returning home. New Zealand has had, at the time of writing, just over 1500 cases, with 22 deaths whilst Australia has had 7,920 cases and 104 deaths. Australia had its first case of COVID-19 on the 19th January whilst New Zealand didn’t have one until over a month later on the 28th February. Over the next few weeks, several COVID-19 clusters developed throughout both countries. Australia introduced initial travel restrictions on the 1st February, with a federal ban on the entry of foreign nationals from mainland China. Over coming weeks, these bans were increasingly widened with similar restrictions implemented in both countries. In mid-March, both Australia and New Zealand implemented policies which required all incoming passengers to self-isolate for 14 days. This was followed by full border closures to all incoming non-citizens and residents - the most rigid border controls ever experienced in both countries. On the 26th March, New Zealand went into a 4-week strict ‘stage 4’ lockdown: schools and other educational institutions, restaurants, bars, shops and malls were closed. Only supermarkets and other ‘essential services’ remained open under strict conditions that ensured physical distancing of customers. Similar restrictions were implemented across Australia but the extent varied by state and territory. None were as strict as NZ. Hospitals and health services cancelled elective surgery and procedures to clear beds for the anticipated surge in cases, whilst public health departments prepared for huge swells in contact tracing activities. The COVID-19 response has highlighted the importance of public health and exposed a long-standing under-investment in the public health workforce and system, as national health ministries/departments have scrambled to increase capacity. So how have New Zealanders and Australians responded to the situation? In general, New Zealanders have been remarkably compliant with the COVID-19 restrictions. Police have taken an educative rather than a punitive approach, although there have been a number of prosecutions. Support for the Prime Minister and the Director General of Health has been high. The popularity for the Director General is so high that there has been a production of T shirts, tote bags and tea-towels featuring his face! Primary, secondary and tertiary students moved online. Universities have tried to consider the impact of online learning, with two of New Zealand’s leading Universities announcing a 5% increase in marks for all Semester 1 courses. These unparalleled times have also meant a rapid shift to novel approaches to teaching, with the need for innovative ways to teach clinical skills and practical elements online. The use of telehealth clinics in the University of Auckland Nutrition and Dietetic training programme has enabled the ongoing development of some core clinical and communication competencies during the pandemic, and exposed students to a varied case-mix. It has also provided opportunities for the development of new techniques for educating patients in the online environment. Food Science and Nutrition Laboratories have also been taught online. Dedicated teaching staff have been using their kitchens to demonstrate science. For example, a disperse system was demonstrated by making mayonnaise! The pandemic saw Australians and New Zealanders act in unpredictable ways. Across both countries, mass panic buying occurred. In Australia, panic buying and supermarket spending escalated throughout March. Canned and dried foods were particularly popular with sales rising by 180 per cent. Toilet and tissue paper sales doubled whilst there were also huge sales in flour, rice and pasta. In New Zealand, panic buying occurred pre-lockdown and also saw many staple ingredients stripped from supermarket shelves including pasta, rice, bread, soaps and hand sanitisers. With cafes and restaurants closed, people turned to home cooking. In mid-April, the five most searched recipes on google in Australia were banana bread, bread, pancakes, pizza dough and biscuits. Flour, yeast and baking powder were in short supply throughout supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand, as people rediscovered the pleasure of making bread, with ‘kneading’ branded a new form of relaxation. Fruit and vegetable growers quickly moved to on-line ordering and home delivery as farmers markets and small food suppliers were closed. Calls to support local business and food producers were widely supported. Food banks saw an increase in demand. The Australian Foodbank, Australia’s largest hunger relief charity, noted a 50% increase in demand for food relief. The demand on food banks and charities has not abated as restrictions are gradually lifted which may be due to rising unemployment rates. Across Australia and New Zealand, unemployment has significantly increased and likely amplified the number of food insecure households. Many Australians and New Zealanders are finding themselves in tough financial times despite large support packages announced by both governments. In New Zealand, the end of strict lockdown unfortunately saw a media frenzy over the opening of takeaway and fast food business, that pre-empted long queues of people, some forming from the early hours of the morning, when doors finally opened after four long weeks. Indigenous communities in both Australia and New Zealand have led initiatives to protect their communities from the threat of COVID19. Māori communities, who were substantially over-represented in impact from the 1918 influenza epidemic and are over-represented in many adverse health outcomes in New Zealand, were particularly concerned. Several isolated Māori communities, in the far North and the East Cape of the North Island, set up road blocks to restrict visitors to their regions and communities. These were largely supported by local police, despite some Conservative Parties’ opposition. Other Māori whanau (extended family) and iwi (tribes) set up community care and response initiatives to support the most vulnerable. The result has been that we haven’t seen the decimation of Māori communities that was seen in 1918. Despite this, some have criticised the lack of Māori representation in the face of the government response to COVID-19. There is no doubt that as an economic downturn hits, equity for Māori, minority groups and the socioeconomically disadvantaged must be a primary consideration in the government’s response. In Australia, First Nations communities have been instrumental in advocating for their communities across all levels of the response. Early involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clinicians, public health practitioners and researchers has been fundamental to effective and successful action, including the design of culturally safe and appropriate pandemic preparedness and response plans for communities. A Government appointed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group on COVID-19 prepared and delivered a number of key actions and activities including: legislative changes (to limit non-essential travel by visitors to remote communities), identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a priority group in the COVID-19 response, health service planning working closely with the Aboriginal community controlled health sector (to scale up COVID-19 testing, staff training and expansion of telehealth services), establishing rapid testing in remote communities and expanding testing sites, infrastructure planning (to provide space for isolate and quarantine in communities where overcrowding exists), improved epidemiological surveillance of cases among First Nations Peoples and a whole suite of targeted health promotion and communication materials for First Nations communities. Both Australia and New Zealand have been incredibly successful in preparing, managing and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In New Zealand, as a general election looms in September, some politicians are agitating for a speedier opening of businesses and borders to stimulate the economy. Whilst others criticise the government’s response as having been too restrictive. We wait with nervousness for a possible ‘second wave’ of cases as restrictions are lifted. Many see the situation in New Zealand and Australia as a triumph of good leadership, science informed decision making and public health practice. We hope many things continue: buying local food and produce, baking and cooking from scratch, strengthening community action, more time with family, breaks from takeaways and fast food, evidence informed policy making, and a focus on equity into the future.

In the couple of months since the end of summer newsletter we have had a plethora of activity within the realms of the NNEdPro Global Centre particularly in September, followed by a phase of consolidation in October and here we are in the last couple of months of this very unusual pandemic year of 2020. It seems like a moment ago that the world was going into lockdown in March and now 8 months later we are in lockdown again, at least from where I write, in Cambridge. But between these two goalposts we have all done some major pivoting in our transformation to a truly digital and virtual organisation! This was epitomised with the successful completion of our Summer events, which were held virtually for the first time - the 5th Annual Summer School and 6th International Summit on Medical and Public Health Nutrition and Research – spanning the globe and between them involving well over a hundred people from over 30 countries. At this year's summit, we recognised members of our Global Innovation Panel, including volunteers, for their continued dedication and outstanding contribution to the work we do. Furthermore, we announced our new junior ambassadors and winners of the NNEdPro-Nutritank Kids’ Kitchen Club Challenge. A vibrant Global Strategy day, saw members of the NNEdPro Virtual Core and Strategic Advisory Committee assembled online to shape the implementation of our refreshed strategic plan for 2021-2025. We also launched our new initiative: The International Knowledge Application Network hub in Nutrition 2025 (I-KANN-25). The International Academy for Nutrition Educators has also been thriving in its first full year since pilot and now has over 130 subscribing members and over 2020 will have run a series of 12 webinars and online journal clubs linked with key topical themes. Whilst much of our research attention has been focused on the work of the dedicated Nutrition and COVID19 Taskforce over the past months we have simultaneously driven new research with Ulster University and the Swiss Re institute in Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Risk whilst continuing our efforts in Global Challenges research with the University of Cambridge especially in India and areas of international development. This autumn we have strengthened our pre-existing relationship with Imperial College London School of Public Health in 'living epidemiology' work based on the South London Cohort. On the education side our University relationships with Parma for the summer school, Monash for IANE and Wollongong for medical nutrition education continue to thrive. Looking back over the year, we have increased our digital connectivity across the consortium of collaborators and partners that enable our academic work as well as its application. Finally, over the past 10 weeks we have also had a series of very productive regional network steering meetings culminating in the Brighton Showcase hosted by ERimNN/BSMS rounding up inspiring case studies of work from across the stakeholders of our UK and Ireland Regional Network which also hosts the Nutrition Implementation Coalition enabling us to move forward as a vanguard of four organisations – NNEdPro, ERimNN, Culinary Medicine and Nutritank – with a common voice especially on nutrition capacity building in health systems. I hope you enjoy the round up in this issue of our newsletter particularly encrusted with a number of gems from our partner journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health, as we work together to synthesise and apply nutrition knowledge relevant not only to the pandemic but more widely towards our mission of tackling food and nutrition insecurity in multiple forms! By Professor Sumantra Ray RNutr Founding Chair and Executive Director

During Global Strategy Day 2020, members of the NNEdPro Global Center for Nutrition and Health assembled virtually to discuss our vision and key strategic priorities for 2021-2025. 1. To become a globally recognised apex body for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange in nutrition, health, and closely related domains. 2. To continue to lead sustainable voluntary regional networks for nutrition knowledge exchange and advocacy across the globe, aligning to relevant national and international organisations. 3. To continue to deliver a range of ‘gold-standard’ nutrition education programmes that encourage capacity building across international networks, driving the inclusion of nutrition in clinical education and practice. 4. To advance priority nutrition research through basic science, human interventions, population studies, evidence syntheses and an associated publication platform. 5. To work towards minimising nutrition and health inequities by empowering individuals and driving systemic change for underserved populations. 6. To drive the implementation of nutrition knowledge into policy, practice, and wider food and health systems, by providing leadership, advocacy, as well as encouraging collaboration with like-minded individuals and organisations. 7. To function as an agile nutrition think-tank with high quality infrastructure for provision of consultancy services. 8. To facilitate the funding and commissioning of nutrition related projects in priority areas. 9. To increase focus on sustainability and climate change within food and nutrition related research and practice.

Key Contributors: Shane McAuliffe, Marjorie Lima do Vale, Elaine Macaninch, James Bradfield, Dominic Crocombe, Sento Kargbo, Daniele Del Rio, Emily Fallon, Kathy Martyn, Martin Kohlmeier, Eleanor Beck, Suzana Almoosawi, Sumantra Ray Acknowledgements: NNEdPro Virtual Core and Global Innovation Panel; Nutrition and COVID19 Taskforce Introduction In late July, following considerable interest and reporting on the relationship between obesity and COVID-19, the UK Government released a policy paper: ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ We commend and celebrate with optimism any commitment to encourage positive lifestyle change and improve population health. However, along with other members of the nutrition and health community, we fear that this response may be overly focused on a limited view of overweight and obesity, considering the enormous complexity of the condition, its determinants, and co-existing conditions. As a group of nutrition researchers, educators and clinicians, we recognise the complexity which spans diet, nutrition and health interfacing with diverse domains such as the social sciences, economics and politics on one hand as well as genetics and biomedical sciences on the other. We also recognise the complexities associated with obesity and weight loss. Therefore, we advocate for the appreciation and adoption of a wider, complete understanding of the science behind obesity and the strategies which are needed to address it. In this blog post, we will discuss four points of the proposed obesity strategy and provide recommendations for a more comprehensive and impactful response. As an organization whose mission is to improve knowledge, skills and capacity in Nutrition and Health, we will also continue to educate medical students, doctors, and the nutrition leaders of tomorrow so that the maximum number of patients and members of the public can learn from this collective, organisational knowledge. First, improve the focus and messaging through valuing lived experiences and co-participation In this policy paper, much of the narrative appears to suggest that the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity is often due to poor decision-making and that stronger willpower and individual commitment to change might be the key to success. While these factors are not without merit, our knowledge of the complexity of overweight and obesity and its root causes are now much further than the seasoned narrative of “eat less, move more” (Foresight-Obesity System Map, 2020). Nevertheless, it seems as though obesity is still widely considered as a self-inflicted condition, which is often reflected in the public’s perception, wider messaging and consequently, public policies employed by both health and social systems (CMAJ, 2020). Much of the actions proposed by the UK Obesity Strategy, for instance, are focused on individual action, such as engagement in app-based weight management interventions, changes in (un)healthy food labels, advertisement and promotion. Through this lens, we risk stigmatising and increasing the psychological difficulty of those individuals affected by overweight and obesity, which is counterproductive, given that research tells us weight bias and stigma contribute to morbidity and mortality independent of weight or Body Mass Index (BMI) (CMAJ, 2020). Placing responsibilities on individuals for their own health and well-being might also contribute to mental distress already caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tackling excess weight and related metabolic health outcomes should not be disentangled from the context of the pandemic and its subsequent burden on individual’s socioeconomic and health domains. “We owe it to the NHS to move towards a healthier weight. Obesity puts pressure on our health service. It is estimated that overweight and obesity related conditions across the UK are costing the NHS £6.1 billion each year” This quote further amplifies the idea that as a public, it is our duty to comply to help relieve the pressure that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on the NHS. While patients are often encouraged to only avail of services when required, for instance, avoiding unnecessary A&E visits, they should not be stigmatised for making use of public services that are crucial to their health and well-being. Further, this adds to the emphasis on personal responsibility to lose weight, while suggesting that not doing so will increase the burden on our already stretched healthcare system. It would appear that this designation of responsibility is both unfounded and unfair, when considering the structural factors driving food choices and consumption, and along with overweight and obesity and the multitude of other factors that have put the NHS under such strain during this pandemic such as cut-backs and the recognised staff-shortages nationally (BMA, 2020). Recommendations Whereas negative messaging can be stigmatising and hurtful, meaning those on the receiving end may ultimately be less likely to engage. On the other hand, use of inclusive, positive and supportive language is understood to be an important facet of effective patient care. Effective messaging, to help inspire change, should be inclusive, collaborative and non-judgemental (NHS England – Language Matters, 2018). Beyond avoiding messages that reinforce victim-blaming, valuing individual’s lived experiences during the pandemic and promoting co-participation in the development of messages used in public national campaigns could be one important strategy to be used. Second, understand, monitor and address the drivers of food choices and nutritional status “Obesity prevalence is highest amongst the most deprived groups in society” The mortality rates from COVID-19 in the most deprived areas of the UK have been more than double that of the least deprived areas (Deaths involving COVID-19 by local area and socioeconomic deprivation - Office for National Statistics, 2020). ICNARC data reflects that a larger proportion of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) with COVID-19 were from the most deprived quintile of areas (25.0%) versus the least deprived (14.7%) (ICNARC, 2020). COVID-19 is seen to be more prevalent among ethnic minorities and highly deprived communities, mirroring the national obesity trends and figures. This could be partially attributable to workers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities being more likely to live in densely populated urban areas and be disproportionately represented in high-risk, key worker jobs. “it’s hard to eat healthily, especially if we are busy or tired or stressed” “Food isn’t the answer to people needing food banks” (Trussell Trust). Research has shown that households referred to food banks are on average, left with just £50 per week after housing costs, which includes rent, electricity and other utility bills. Financial strain is likely to increase for more socioeconomically deprived households as we emerge from lockdown, with furlough schemes and additional social support subsiding. With additional pressure from housing and other bills, food often becomes less of a priority for struggling families, many of whom have lost jobs and livelihoods. Lack of time, income and resources are often far bigger contributors to poor health choices than lack of knowledge. Unless we equip individuals with the means to implement advice, provision of this information is less likely to be successful. While reducing volume and promotion of foods high in fat, sugar and sodium might be effective in reducing consumers purchase in some contexts, this might not be the case in scenarios where resources allocated to food purchase or food preparation are already scarce. For instance, a report published in 2018 showed that the cost of the minimum essential food basket can range to one-fourth to almost a half of take-home pay among those dependent solely on state benefits in Northern Ireland (Food Standards Agency, 2018). Moreover, processed, convenience foods may seem more expensive than fresh produce at face value, but when measured as cost per calorie they provide high value for money. In a state of food insecurity, many are likely to make decisions based on these factors as well as how long the food will last and the resources required to prepare and store foods. Consequently, the choice of food by individuals in this position is often calorie dense, high in fat, salt, and sugar but remarkably nutrient poor. While these food choices most likely contribute to the development of overweight and obesity, they may also potentially contribute to underlying micronutrient deficiencies, which we know to be prevalent in the UK, particularly among young adults (Derbyshire, 2018). The Trussell Trust reports a soaring 81% increase for emergency food parcels from food banks in its network during the last two weeks of March 2020, compared to the same period in 2019 (Trussell Trust, 2020). Food parcel provision is generally based around the foods described above which are lower in cost and non-perishable as opposed to fresher options. Food bank parcels have been shown to exceed energy requirements and provide disproportionately high sugar and carbohydrate and inadequate vitamin A and D compared to the UK guidelines (Fallaize et al, 2020). A common theme throughout the obesity strategy is that of “Giving everyone a fair deal”. The reality, however, is that structural inequality renders some groups more vulnerable than others, meaning the consequences of the pandemic will be felt unevenly across our society – which is also reflected in our food system. Unless we tackle the root cause of social inequality and inequity, there will be many individuals who are fighting an uphill battle, due to poorer access to quality food or lack thereof, and as a result, poorer health (Health Foundation, 2020). It is crucial to address reports of increasing rates of food poverty during the pandemic response if the government’s strategy to improve the overall health of vulnerable populations is to be effective (Baranuik, 2020). Recommendations Coordinated efforts to support food assistance programmes in providing emergency food parcels and baskets along with the involvement of nutrition professionals will be a crucial factor in ensuring that the nutritional quality of food provision is maximised, particularly when resources are scarce. This has already been demonstrated during the pandemic, through the involvement of specialist dietitians in the formation of an Oncology tailored food bank. This repurposing of food destined for the Macmillan Cafe enabled patients to access foods that were appropriate for their health conditions (Macaninch et al., 2020). In fact, tailored community nutrition support programmes have been gaining significant attention in recent times, with a multitude of examples in the United States of their effectiveness to date (Downer et al., 2020). While improving the quality of food parcels delivered to those most in need will be an important step, it will likely be insufficient. We must consider ways in which to facilitate those living with limited means to make the most of what is available to them. First, in order to maximize success and effect, a combination of food taxes on unhealthy food options in tandem with subsidies for healthy alternatives might be preferable (Niebylski, Redburn, Duhaney & Campbell, 2015). Implementing monitoring and surveillance systems are required to monitor impact for adverse effects. Data must be collected from vulnerable groups of society, who might be under-represented in convenience sampling strategies. Second, food literacy is an important piece of this puzzle. Providing cooking skills to those with limited resources, including ways to minimise waste and how to manage food purchases on a budget will add value (Garcia et al., 2017). Further, we must also provide individuals with the opportunity to implement this knowledge - something as basic as provision of cooking equipment alongside food parcels and nutrition education, in a way that is both practical and accessible. Such food skills programmes can be a highly effective means of improving self-efficacy, psychological capability, and healthy behaviours (Garcia et al., 2017). Further steps to improve abilities related to financial management, tailored to help those on limited income to live within their means, will go a long way in addressing issues of food security (Trussell Trust – Eat Well Spend Less Programme). Third, promote healthy eating habits from early years “Children in the most deprived parts of the country are more than twice as likely to be obese as their peers living in the richest areas” National Childhood Measurement Programme data shows increased widening of childhood obesity prevalence between higher and lower socioeconomic groups. These patterns reflect the inequalities seen throughout the life course which need to be addressed early in life as part of an effective obesity prevention and management strategy. Rising prices and reduced access to fresh food exacerbates the difficulties some families already face in putting a healthy meal on the table. This poverty loop exacerbates nutrition insecurity where all 3 forms of poor nutrition co-exist throughout the life course. For instance, the diet of pregnant women directly affects their babies growth, and in turn influence genetic development. Poorer foundations have been shown to increase the risk of metabolic disorders (obesity, cardiovascular, type 2 diabetes) later in life, with evidence that these changes can have an influence across generations (Edwards, 2017). This means that there is an opportunity to influence genetic potential in early stages of life, in order to provide the best chance of healthy growth and development. Recommendations It may not be enough to simply focus on those who are already living with obesity. We must address the root cause of the problem to ensure fair and equitable access to healthy food for all, from the earliest stages of life. This can be achieved through reinstating initiatives such as the healthy start programme and providing pre-natal vitamins for all pregnant women. Early years nutrition interventions are also possible and potentially effective, which includes educating nurses, midwives, and health workers. Furthermore, the food environment can be influenced effectively in the early learning sector and schools. More investment in early learning and school food environments is a good starting point, which has been highlighted more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic (Baraniuk, 2020). Alongside this, the role of nutrition and food literacy cannot be overlooked. Health professionals are a part of the picture in improving nutrition literacy among early learning providers, school teachers and school-going children. In Japan, for example, there are a multitude of dietitians, employed at schools to teach children. A nudge towards nutrition as part of school curriculum would be helpful. Advocating for a better education on food science and nutrition from early learning sectors might represent a big leap towards increased awareness from the beginning of life, even before a person starts making these decisions. Early learning sector and schools provide a perfect platform for health promotion - a ready-made opportunity to instil healthy eating habits as well as the opportunity for engagement with both peers and parents (Oostindjer et al., 2016). Fourth, address the Complexity of Obesity – Nutrition and Health “These risks increase progressively as an individual’s body mass index (BMI) increases” “You can start by weighing and measuring yourself and checking your BMI through the NHS BMI tool. If you are overweight, you can start your weight loss journey with the free NHS 12-week weight loss plan app” We fear that the focus on weight as the primary marker of health is erroneous and potentially stigmatising. While BMI is a useful surveillance mechanism for tracking population health, we must acknowledge its flaws as a marker of health on an individual level. BMI alone is not an accurate measure of adiposity-related complications, especially when we consider its lack of generalisability across cultures and ethnicities, through underestimating adiposity in South Asian populations and overestimating it in Black Caribbean populations. “working to expand weight management services available through the NHS, so more people get the support they need to lose weight “We need to make sure that across the nation we don’t take in more calories than we need “That is why we want to make sure that our labelling of products in store and in cafes and coffee shops helps us to make healthier choices” “It is fundamental that we all have access to the information we need to support a healthier weight, and this starts with knowing how calorific our food is” In a similar vein, we must acknowledge the complexity of foods beyond a single metric or marker of quality. Calories, like BMI, provide a very crude marker of the ‘healthiness’ of food. The focus on calories as the marker of a healthy diet runs the risk of being misinterpreted and oversimplified. We are delighted to see such a positive commitment through increasing the funding for NHS weight management services, who do such amazing work for their patients. Although, it seems that the role of dietitians and other nutrition professionals has not been acknowledged in the policy paper, which is concerning. The provision of nutrition & dietetic professionals has been chronically inadequate within the health system at primary and secondary care, as well as public health levels. Needless to say, developing successful effective initiatives requires a diverse, multi-disciplinary workforce. We must ensure funding & training is adequate for those healthcare professionals best equipped to deliver these services most effectively. It will be important to ensure that the complexities of nutrition and health science are understood and acknowledged, to reduce the risk of judgements being made on oversimplified or misguided perceptions of the relationship of food and weight with health. In addition to that, evidence on the effectiveness of app-based interventions to improve diet and physical activity while promoting weight loss must be interpreted with caution. From an implementation perspective, there are several barriers related to access to and literacy in using such technologies that could limit their reach, use and impact. In addition to that, groups included in trials of app-based interventions fail to represent groups with socio-economic restrictions (Ghelani et al., 2020), thus widening inequality. Recommendations Human health is complex and multi-dimensional, meaning that focussing on a single metric runs the risk of oversimplifying this complexity and undervaluing the importance of healthy behaviours, even if they are not directly associated with weight. Better language could and should be chosen to encourage positive lifestyle habits, rather than a narrow focus on weight or BMI on an individual level, especially when we consider how difficult long-term weight loss maintenance is to achieve. Individuals should be encouraged to adopt healthy behaviours that are not captured by BMI and therefore important regardless of this measurement, for example; eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day, adequate hydration, the eat well guide, aiming for 30 mins physical activity, resistance training and adequate sleep - to name but a few. For example, those following a Mediterranean diet high in fruit, vegetables, fibre, fish, nuts and olive oil have been shown to reduce their risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes by a third - without losing weight (Salas-Salvado et al., 2010). This suggests the potential for effectiveness with nutrition-based goals, where success is measured by additional factors beyond just weight, such as blood pressure, lipids, and mental health. In terms of information and food labelling focused on calories, the public could be better served through education on food-based guidelines and an emphasis on healthy dietary patterns and lifestyle behaviours, in a way that is practical, measurable, and easily understood. The source of calories should be a more important focus than the calories themselves. Perhaps further development of the traffic light system could be used to assess the nutritional quality of foods, beyond just a focus on calories. We might also focus on health-promoting aspects of individual foods. Additional markers of quality might include a tick for foods high in whole grains, or highlighting a good source of certain vitamins or omega-3. The most effective initiatives should be engaging but not overwhelming or complex - simple messaging is key. Conclusion All in all, an integrated systems approach ought to be developed with a multipronged intervention strategy equipped with data systems for surveillance and monitoring of targets at population level using routine data, as well as at individual level, from health-related encounters. On one hand we need to target food production, food supply and food environments as well as food marketing to firstly improve the availability of as well as accessibility to more nutrient-rich but less energy-dense foods. These combined with appropriate food education for consumers would enable more consistently healthy food choices. A systemic shift in such food choices towards dietary patterns with proven impact on nutritional status and health outcomes can improve health outcomes particularly. When considering an at-risk obese/overweight population with concurrent micronutrient deficiencies can be an effective form of primary disease prevention or indeed secondary prevention of disease complications and adverse health outcomes particularly in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic. List of References Baraniuk, C. (2020). Fears grow of nutritional crisis in lockdown UK. BMJ, 370; m3193. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m3193 British Medical Association (2020). Pressure Points in the NHS. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/pressure-points-in-the-nhs CMAJ 2020 August 4;192:E875-91. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.191707 Deaths involving COVID-19 by local area and socioeconomic deprivation - Office for National Statistics. (2020). Retrieved 31 August 2020, from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsinvolvingcovid19bylocalareasanddeprivation/deathsoccurringbetween1marchand31may2020 Derbeyshire, E (2020). Micronutrient Intakes of British Adults Across Mid-Life: A Secondary Analysis of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2018.00055 Downer S., Berkowitz, S.A., Harlan, T.S., Olstad, D.L., and Mozaffarian, D. Food is medicine: actions to integrate food and nutrition into healthcare, BMJ 2020; 369:M2482. Edwards M. (2017) The Barker Hypothesis. In: Preedy V., Patel V. (eds) Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40007-5_71-1 Fallaize, R., Newlove, J., White, A. & Lovegrove, J.A. (2020) Nutritional adequacy and content of food bank parcels in Oxfordshire, UK: a comparative analysis of independent and organisational provision. J Hum Nutr Diet. 33, 477– 486. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12740 Food Standard Agency (2018). The cost of a healthy food basket in Northern Ireland in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.food.gov.uk/research/research-projects/the-cost-of-a-healthy-food-basket-in-northern-ireland-in-2018 Foresight – Obesity System Map. (2020). Retrieved 31 August 2020, from https://debategraph.org/Stream.aspx?nid=365986&vt=outline&dc=all Garcia, A., Reardon, R., Hammond, E., Parrett, A., & Gebbie-Diben, A. (2017). Evaluation of the “Eat Better Feel Better” Cooking Programme to Tackle Barriers to Healthy Eating. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 14(4), 380. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14040380 ICNARC report on COVID-19 in critical care (2020). Retrieved from https://www.icnarc.org/Our-Audit/Audits/Cmp/Reports Language Matters: Language and diabetes. (2018). Retrieved 31 August 2020, from https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/language-matters-language-and-diabetes/ Niebylski, M., Redburn, K., Duhaney, T., & Campbell, N. (2015). Healthy food subsidies and unhealthy food taxation: A systematic review of the evidence. Nutrition, 31(6), 787-795. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2014.12.010 Oostindjer, M., Aschemann-Witzel, J., Wang, Q., Skuland, S., Egelandsdal, B., & Amdam, G. et al. (2016). Are school meals a viable and sustainable tool to improve the healthiness and sustainability of children´s diet and food consumption? A cross-national comparative perspective. Critical Reviews In Food Rutter H, Savona N, Glonti K, et al. The need for a complex systems model of evidence for public health. Lancet (London, England) 2017; 390: 2602–4. Salas-Salvado, J., Bullo, M., Babio, N., Martinez-Gonzalez, M., Ibarrola-Jurado, N., & Basora, J. et al. (2010). Reduction in the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes With the Mediterranean Diet: Results of the PREDIMED-Reus nutrition intervention randomized trial. Diabetes Care, 34(1), 14-19. doi: 10.2337/dc10-1288 The Health Foundation (2020). Will COVID-19 be a watershed moment for health inequalities? Retrieved from https://www.health.org.uk/publications/long-reads/will-covid-19-be-a-watershed-moment-for-health-inequalities Trussell Trust. Eat Well Spend Less. https://www.eatwellspendless.org/ Trussell Trust (2020). Food banks report record spike in need as coalition of anti-poverty charities call for strong lifeline to be thrown to anyone who needs it. Retrieved from: https://www.trusselltrust.org/2020/05/01/coalition-call/

August has been a month juxtaposing the final embers of the summer holidays with the exponential efforts in preparing for our very first ever FULLY VIRTUAL online Summer School and International Summit along with our Global Strategy Day this September! These events are expected to digitally bring together over a hundred potential changemakers at a moment when the pandemic has highlighted the need for nutrition to be brought centre stage more than ever before. August also marked the end of the first six months of learning around Nutrition and COVID-19 brought together by our dedicated Taskforce as we shared our findings with the world in 2.5 hours of live content. This is however just a beginning as we still have much to learn over the next 6 months whilst everyone prepares for secondary impacts of the pandemic as we cross the calendar year. I would also like to welcome a number of new members who have joined this month and thank those who are moving on as our Think tank continues to move forward as a diverse global community. This month we have also had regional network steering meetings in Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland and the USA whilst planning for India, Italy, and UK and Ireland over the coming month. Once again, in this brave new digital world it has become possible for us to take deep dives into multiple continents without leaving our homes or incurring added carbon footprint, certainly something to consider retaining well into the future! Finally, as we head into the action-packed month of September and come out at the other end with added insights as well as a refreshed organisational strategy, as ever I would like to express huge thanks especially to members of our Virtual Core and particularly our Operations and Strategy Team who have been akin to a galaxy of stars in preparing the stage as we gear up to say ‘lights, camera, and action’ this September for what promises to be another bumper edition of our flagship events… hope to see you very soon (online)!

It is with deep concern that we follow the recent events in the United States – the murder of George Floyd, the protests that occurred in response to it, and the manner in which the crisis has been addressed by certain holders of the highest public offices – all of these have sent shockwaves across a world already reeling under the burden of an already unprecedented pandemic. We express our deepest condolences to Mr Floyd’s family, and we share the public outrage regarding the discrimination and brutality that led to his death as well as the wider debate and protest about policing culture. We also stand behind the undeniable right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest as we fully support their demands for justice and overall societal change that will ensure that cases like this are eradicated. As a public health organisation that researches and promotes one of the most fundamental human rights - the right to food and adequate nutrition - we are well aware of the issues of structural racism and discrimination, as well as the fragile situation of minority groups in many corners of the world, including in developed and industrialised nations. This is not only an infringement on basic human rights and dignity but also erodes the democratic values that ought to form the very fabric of our societies. Black Lives Matter! We will continue to celebrate diversity within our core values as progress in science and health can only be achieved when inequity is eliminated.  We hope that in this turbulent time, while we mourn the tragic loss of life, we also grow with wisdom and strength to push for meaningful societal change ensuring equal rights and opportunities for every human being regardless of the groups to which they belong. Given our extensive regional networks in both developing and developed countries, we will continue to demonstrate our commitment to the principles of social justice by prioritising work with marginalised communities and minority groups, particularly to address food and health-related insecurity in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. Through our work, we will seek to uphold the equal value of all lives and envision a world free from health inequalities owing to discrimination in all its forms. Message from Nikitah Rajput Ray, NNEdPro Junior Ambassador: H Carter, C Laur, S Mitra, M Rajput-Ray, S Ray, B Stankovski, H Trigueiro NNEdPro Equality and Diversity Response Team

It is mid-2020 already! Whilst the world has changed unimaginably in the past six months, the one thing that never changes is the ever marching passage of time. Half of the year has gone by and swept us off our course completely with the combined impacts of the pandemic, increasing climate change effects in the background and a peak into the visibility of struggles against minority oppression in the foreground. Whilst we didn’t anticipate facing such challenges this year, we probably also could not have predicted just how many opportunities there would be to advance our learning and insights in just a few months! On the technical front by being at the helm of our Nutrition and COVID-19 Taskforce, comprising some amazing colleagues from NNEdPro and BMJ Nutrition, I have certainly had to challenge previously held knowledge in the quest for new insights into tackling the pandemic from a food and nutrition perspective. Over 15 weeks there has been an average of an output each week marshalled by this Taskforce to add to national and global efforts including providing advice to guideline agencies. However, what this has taught us is that knowledge can never stand still on its laurels and with the greatest humility we need open mindedness, being ready to potentially discard the truths of yesteryears to embrace novel ways forward in the pursuit of science to serve society! Alongside accruing new knowledge we have also learned new ways of coping with a global crisis and how despite being apart we can be more connected than ever before. This month our colleagues from across the Mediterranean, as well as those under down, will provide a view on how Australia and New Zealand have been combatting COVID-19 from locking down on social contact to unlocking online learning! At NNEdPro we are also delighted with the success to date of our online learning as we enter the third month of conducting linked webinars and online journal clubs for the members of the International Academy of Nutrition Educators as well as external subscribers. This has geared us up to deliver over 60 hours of world class educational content in the form of our Online Summer School and Virtual International Summit this September – I hope to e-meet many of you there – and in the meantime please do spread the word! Another piece of learning in recent weeks has been the insights arising from the Black Lives Matter movement and its corollaries the world over. On one hand, as an organisation we strongly support the abolition of oppression in all its forms. However, on the other hand as an individual, it has made me even more cognisant of the walls of structural discrimination that we have almost come to accept as ‘normal’ due to its pervasive nature and wide prevalence. However, just as the incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 is a phenomenon that we are joining forces to tackle, the momentum from the BLM movement provides us with a similar opportunity to learn, evolve and stand united against the hidden pandemic of inequalities. With this learning, I feel both privileged and humbled as I look back on the past 20 years of my own career and when I first began the journey of attempting to unite the worlds of Nutrition, Public Health and Medicine. Whilst the destination is still a work in progress, the path has been the greatest teacher. Together with colleagues and friends, I have had the opportunity to navigate barriers on rocky and uneven terrain at times against the headwinds of scientific or social ignorance. But this has never dampened our velocity or tenacity as NNEdPro has been spurred on at every stage by the much stronger tailwinds that come from the energy, enthusiasm and collective brilliance of the members at our very core. Aside from the technical aspects of the work we do I realise we also have a responsibility to share our learning around the experience of how best to tackle inequity and turn challenges into opportunities. And in doing so we can hope to be true to our strapline of advancing and implementing nutrition (as well as generic) knowledge to improve health, wellbeing and society! Professor Sumantra Ray RNutr Founding Chair and Executive Director

This blog offers insights from members of our Italy Regional Network, who provide an account of some of their personal and professional experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Edited by S McAuliffe & M McGirr Four months ago, the first time I heard about the “new type of coronavirus”, I was thinking “ok, it’s just a flu! Everything is so overstated. The virus is here but far from us, it’s dangerous but not if you are a normal weight, healthy adult. Life goes on and in a few weeks we’ll be back to normal”. Since then, my life has totally changed. Millions of people have been infected or died and this time people were our neighbours, our relatives and friends. The lockdown has frozen our life and we have understood that this frightening situation would have become our new normality. I was coming back to work in January after 8 months of maternity leave and, just some weeks after, I was at home again trying to manage my personal and professional life, more time suspended and things at a standstill. Without time limits, 24/7 I was doing my best to be a good mum, wife and also be an accurate and timely worker. I’m spending a lot of time with my baby, the best of these months of lockdown, but I’ve never stopped working. A lot of data to be processed, papers to be written, online meetings, and projects ongoing. We have many irons in the fire and we can keep working hard without being affected for now. The stay-at-home claim, the rainbow drawings outside the houses, social distancing, masks, friends and relatives on the phone screen will be the memories of this period of my life. I feel very blessed, we are all safe. We have also learned a few things that I hope we will remember in the future. [Alice Rosi] Significantly. Both work and personal activities have changed quite a lot. Research activities have suffered too and most of the ongoing projects have been redefined, postponed, or delayed. This is particularly relevant for a few human studies that have been completely blocked. The good point is that we are processing data and producing deliverables at a fast pace, giving value to some projects that were somehow blocked. Priorities changed, but hard work never stopped. Teaching activities have turned into less reciprocal exchanges with students. We had to adapt teaching activities and exams to suit the new situation. Definitely not an easy task, although I have to say that all involved (students, teachers, and university services) did a great job to make this situation work and get things done. I'm quite happy with the commitment demonstrated by the students, despite the difficulties they may have with working remotely. Working from home has been a challenge. An agreement between family and job responsibilities, trying to make the most of this situation and enjoy both things: discovering new angles of family life and improving my capabilities to work efficiently. I think it has been a very productive period in every way. The perfect storm to review some aspects and grow both as a person and as a professional. [Pedro Mena] It was Wednesday, the 4th of March, the last day I spent in a laboratory, in my usual work space. On that morning, some technicians suddenly switched the useless laboratory in front of our office into a daily operative centre for Covid-19 swab extraction. In the afternoon, I greeted my colleagues, as always, and the day after, we all unexpectedly started a new working reality: smart working. I think our work could partially carried out in every place more generally, and the pandemic has demonstrated this. We had megabytes of data to elaborate, and megabytes of data already elaborated, but not yet critically analysed and scientifically written. Hence, this unreal situation gave us the opportunity to slow down the experimental part of our work and to clean up some old notebook folders, publishing interesting scientific papers. We learned all possible platforms for online meetings, we recorded university lessons, we undertook exams… Finally, I think we made the situation work and “nutrition science has gone on”. Today is the 4th of June and I really miss my laboratory and my normality. During these 3 months, I have merged work with family, with a 1 year old and a 3 year old, drastically modifying my job schedule. I have worked as a researcher early in the morning, late in the night and when the children slept. The rest of the day I was a distracted mom and wife, without any break, without any time, without any routine, with my laptop always switched on up above the kitchen table when I was preparing the lunch or the dinner. Or in the garden, where with one hand I pushed the kids on the swing and with the other I answered e-mails. I love my family and I love my work, and the pandemic taught me the need to separate these two realities to give my best to both my family and to science. [Letizia Bresciani] In December 2019 I was appointed as Assistant Professor at the University of Teramo and so I moved from my place in Parma – where I was Post-Doc – to Teramo, a totally new town for me. For this reason I only spent few months enjoying my new position before the COVID-19 lockdown. At the beginning of this period I felt alone and a bit sad for this restriction, at a time just when I was starting my new life. However I took advantage being closed home by improving my relationship with friends and colleagues. Particularly with the latter – most of them were in the same situation – we enjoyed having on-line meetings and thinking about new projects and ideas which could have been done in the lockdown period and also after COVID-19 ending. Finally I had the chance to meet also some faculty colleagues on line in order to introduce myself and share our skills. [Donato Angelino] When the lockdown started, I had only worked at my new workplace in the University of Milan for a couple of months. So at the very beginning it was quite hard to understand what to do and how to re-organize my smart-work at home. This was particularly important, but difficult also from a personal and emotional point of view, considering that Lombardy was hit harder than Italy's other regions. “Luckily” I had some backlog and during these months I had the opportunity to catch up, by writing several manuscripts as well as by implementing and planning some of the projects that have been kept in storage for a long period in the near future. Moreover, I had my first course as Assistant Professor, and doing the course by Microsoft Teams instead of in a real room was a real challenge - quite stressful to be honest because of my usual “fear of failure”. One of the “positive” points of this very tough time was that I could attend several meetings and seminars. For all these things technology was very useful and gave me the possibility to bridge the gap between me and my colleagues that the lockdown had imposed on us. Now it’s time for a new normality, despite with the belief that “nothing will be the same as before” [Daniela Martini] I work in one of the cities hit worst by COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. I clearly remember the day in which the lockdown in Codogno (the city where the first Italian COVID-19 patient had been diagnosed), was declared. I was having lunch with my boss, who is from Codogno. After lunch, I had my last meeting with a student before the lockdown, to discuss about her graduation thesis, and I clearly remember her face: she was scared. At the University the panic quickly started to spread. In a very short time, my world has changed. I packed all my stuff and transferred my office at my "home safe home". However, a few days later I had to pack all my stuff again to move to another house with my son, since my husband works at the hospital, in the intensive care unit, therefore at high risk of being infected. Initially, I obviously did not really know how big this emergency would be and how long it would last, but I had the feeling this was only the “tip of the iceberg”. However, I always tried to be positive, and I remember thinking: “Well, I am a mom and I am a scientist. I’ll do my best to be resilient, adapting myself to this new situation, and find the best way to keep my work going”. I changed all my plans for the following months, while always trying to remember that I had to find the positive things in this period, even if my routine was completely turned upside down. For instance, I had to interrupt several projects due to be carried out in the lab, but I immediately thought I would use this time to write papers and to finalize backlogs from my new home office. During these months, supporting my students, doing online exams and trying to plan the activities with my colleagues from home has been hard. However, creativity has been the essential ingredient to find constantly new ways to keep my networks alive, to take care and foster relationships with my colleagues and to progress with all projects and activities. In the end, unexpectedly, it has also been "the time for taking time" for new ideas and projects. In conclusion, this pandemic certainly left a mark in my life: it forced me to change my point of view and it has changed the way I used to work - but at the same time, it has also opened the door to new opportunities and new alternative ways of working. I have been forced to rethink my working priorities and to contemplate new ideas for nutrition science. [Margherita Dall’ Asta] I had to introduce profound changes in my work and private life routine. I was responsible for starting a communication project targeted at parents, regarding health nutrition for families with kids. The idea was to organize several events in the area of Milan, and contribute to science festivals in other italian regions. Because the COVID19 pandemic, I decided with the institution where I work, to switch my communication plan and start a social media project. I founded the instagram and Facebook profile of the "Buono al Cubo" project. This enables me to partially work from home, because I have a 2-year old child. [Francesca Ghelfi]