Medical doctors only receive a selleck chem inhibitor few hours of training in nutrition and, at some universities they do not even acquire a basis in human nutrition at all. Secondly, over the last decades, nutrition has been practically absent from the Belgian politi-cal agenda. It was only on the eve of the current millennium that things started to take a substantial turn as far as nutritional policy making is concerned. In 2004 the first nationwide food consumption survey was launched [2] and shortly after that, in 2006, a national plan on nutrition and health was prepared and formally adopted by the Government [3]. Despite these efforts, Belgium is still lagging behind as compared to many other European countries [4].
The most important priorities of this national plan are to inform the general public about a healthy diet and lifestyle, to develop tools for creating an environment which improves the dietary and physical behaviour of the population, to engage the private sector in tackling certain nutritional issues, to address the problem of micronutrient deficiencies, to monitor food and nutrient intake in the population and to stimulate nutrition research. Currently, representative data on nutritional habits and food intake in the Belgian population are scarce. Belgium still does not have a stable system of regular dietary monitoring, while this is common prac-tice in various other European countries [5]. Finally, nutrition is intrinsically a multi- and interdisciplinary scientific activity with a typical complex causality. The determinants of nutritional problems are often found in seemingly unrelated areas (e.
g. the role of urban planners or agricultural economics in the fight against the epidemic of obesity). Consequently, solutions to nutritional problems of today will require mobilisation of different disciplines. Such interdisciplinary collaboration is not easily achieved and requires leadership and long lasting partnerships with various stakeholders. Foundation of the Belgian Nutrition Society The issues identified above are clearly intertwined and require structural solutions. National fora are needed to bring together scientists active in the field of nutrition. For this – and other purposes – a structure was created that offers a forum for an interdisciplinary group of scientists in the broad field of human nutrition and related domains (physiology, biochemistry, epidemiology, food technology, dietetics, psychology, social sciences, behavioural sciences, animal feeding, ethical and legal issues, etc.
). From September 2007 onwards, a small group of scientists active in the field of nutrition, in-cluding members of various key scientific institutions Anacetrapib in Belgium, met regularly to prepare a blueprint of the structure and statutes of a nutrition society and to determine its main objectives. The Belgian Nutrition Society (BNS) was born out of this effort.