The Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich initiated with a kick-off meeting last week, a transnational research programme on strategies for prevention and intervention in pregnancy and early post natal life to tackle later obesity and associated disorders.
This first meeting of the project entitled EarlyNutrition, held March 21st -23rd, was attended by more than 60 scientists from 36 universities and research institutes in Europe, the USA and Australia. The key aim of the project EarlyNutrition is to establish an improved scientific basis for the development of recommendations for optimal early nutrition that incorporate long-term health outcomes. The project has received an exceptionally positive response from Brussels as well as about 9 million Euro financial support through the 7th EU Framework Programme within the “Food” theme towards a total project budget of more than 11 million Euro.
The project comprises the diverse but complementary skills of more than 50 scientists from 36 research institutions in Europe, the USA and Australia, coordinated by the Hauner Children’s Hospital, University of Munich. The Project Co-ordinator Professor Berthold Koletzko remarked ““Nutrition during pregnancy and infancy has a marked programming effect in life-long health and can modify the risk of obesity and related diseases. Better understanding of the underlying mechanisms will help us to fully utilise the enormous preventive potential.”
