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17th December 2009: Third Nutrimenthe Partner Meeting

Nutrimenthe partners met in Tarragona from the 21st to 23rd of October 2009 for the 3rd Nutrimenthe Biannual Meeting. Located on the Spanish coast, 60 miles southwest of Barcelona, Tarragona was one of the first major cities in Spain to be conquered by the Romans and eventually became one of the most prosperous ports in the entire Roman Empire. It is know a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first day of the meeting focused mainly on Anthropometric training. Approximately 20 people attended the session which began with presentations by J Williams MF Rolland Cachera on the “Standard Operating Procedures to assess anthropometry”, “Equations to calculate body composition”, and “World Health Organisation growth charts” and was followed by a practical session where participants learned how to carry out anthropmetric measurements on children. An SOP was distributed to study centres and Workpackage members.

The second day was dedicated to the General Assembly meeting for all partners and a poster session which enabled researchers to exchange their most recent results. At the General Assembly meeting, Workpackage leaders presented reports of progress to date and discussed work planned for the future. At the end of the second day, partners were treated to a guided tour of the Roman city followed by the conference meal which was sponsored by SHS Nutracia. On the third and final day, parallel Workpackage sessions were held.

It was clear from this Nutrimenthe meeting that great progress has been made in several Workpackages, including WP 5 (SIMBA - data collection completed), WP10 (Consumers - initial data collection and analysis completed), and WP11 (Economics - several systematic reviews completed and ready for journal submissions). Furthermore, important developments have also been made in WP 7 (Harmonisation of neuropsychological testing), WP 3 (NUHEAL) and WP 4 (CHOP). Overall, partners are aware that there is still a considerable amount of research work to be done but they feel optimistic for the future of Nutrimenthe.