FAO and WHO to provide science-based guidance on food and nutrition

The FAO and the WHO have been assigned the task to provide science-based guidance on food and nutrition to national governments and the international community. Regularly hosting expert meetings to review available scientific evidence, they translate this newly gained knowledge into the definitions of requirements, nutritional requirement values and corresponding nutrient-based recommendations.

Due to major developments since the last expert meeting on Fats and Fatty Acids in 1993, an update of the 1996 publication and recommendations was urgently needed: today we have a better understanding of how particular fatty acids are metabolized in the body, how they control gene transcription and expression, and how they interact with each other. Fats and fatty acids are now considered key nutrients affecting both early growth and development, as well as nutrition-related chronic diseases later in life.

This publication contains the background papers which have been prepared by a panel of carefully selected experts and have served as the basis for the updated dietary recommendations of FAO and WHO. They provide an excellent overview of recent developments in the field of fats and fatty acids and offer a wealth of information for nutritionists and other clinicians.

The publication will be presented to the scientific community during the 19th International Congress of Nutrition to be held in Bangkok in October.