FDA and NIH Announce Joint Initiative to Examine Chronic Disease Crisis

The FDA and NIH have announced a “joint innovative research initiative” that will aim to “end the diet-related chronic disease crisis.”

The so-called “Nutrition Regulatory Science Program” will “implement and accelerate a comprehensive nutrition research agenda that will provide critical information to inform effective food and nutrition policy actions to help make Americans’ food and diets healthier.” Questions it will seek to answer include “How and why can ultra-processed foods harm people’s health?”

The initiative will also explore the effects of certain food additives and “the role of maternal and infant dietary exposures on health outcomes across the lifespan.” FDA commissioner Martin A. Makary has said the initiative will mirror the FDA and NIH Tobacco Regulatory Science Program.

The FDA will “provide its critical expertise in regulatory science and NIH will provide the infrastructure for the solicitation, review and management of scientific research. The initiative will bring together experts in many disciplines—including chronic disease, nutrition, toxicology, risk analysis, behavioral science, and chemistry.”