Nutrition Science Conference in Uzbekistan

The recent Global Burden of Disease study found Uzbekistan tops the list of European nations with the highest mortality from consuming an unbalanced diet. Between 1990 and 2006, Uzbekistan had more diet-related cardiovascular deaths than all the 51 countries in the World Health Organization European Region.

“We now know that nutrition is far more important for long-term health than previously understood,” said Kent Thornburg, Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of the institute. “Our research has shown that nutrition before and during pregnancy, during lactation and in the first years of life plays a significant role in establishing risk for chronic disease as adults.”

In 2014, the Moore Institute hosted the International Summit on the Health of Adolescent Girls and Women. Viola Artikova, a native of Uzbekistan and wife of the Moore Institute’s Director of Global Outreach, noticed Russian speaking nations were not represented. Having completed her medical training in Uzbekistan and worked closely with the country’s health department, she knew how nutrition-related disease played a large role in the poor health of her home country. She and her husband, Fred Gregory, worked with the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, the Uzbekistan Ministry of Health and a local non-profit called For Healthy Generation to develop a conference bringing this science to Uzbekistan. The U.S. Embassy ultimately funded the conference.

Dr. Thornburg used his talks to draw connections between dietary changes and chronic disease risk in Uzbekistan and the U.S., highlighting that this is a global epidemic that affects us all.

“We hope that the people of Uzbekistan can use this science as a means to inform public health programs and policies to improve the health of their population,” Dr. Thornburg said. “We are excited to explore potential collaborations to further this work.”

Russian materials from the conference:
Жизнь мальчиков полна «опасностей» (Boys live dangerously)
Еда как лекарство (Food As Medicine)
Болезни сердца (Heart Disease)
Логическая схема концепции «ДОХАД» (DOHaD Logic Flow)
Моя тарелка в период беременности (My Pregnancy Plate)

Lao-American Nutrition Institute (LANI)

Together with Lao University Health Sciences and the Lao Ministry of Health, OHSU is providing technical support to operate this institute with a goal of improving nutrition and decreasing stunting among the Lao population. Moore Institute Associate Director for Nutrition, Diane Stadler, Ph.D., R.D., is leading efforts to build capacity and initiate new approaches to improve the state of nutrition in Lao. A first cohort of health professionals completed a program to train them as clinical dieticians. OHSU dietetic students have completed rotations in Lao, and plans are in the works for a Lao student to come to OHSU for additional training.

International summit

In 2015, the Moore Institute gathered nutrition scientists and nutrition practitioners from developing nations at the International Summit on the Nutrition of Adolescent Girls and Young Women. Funded with a grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the summit aimed to close the gaps between nutrition research and application of emerging knowledge to shape programs for undernourished populations. 

Representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Zambia, Uganda, England, Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand and Chile came together to share, listen and learn. Together they created a consensus statement that was published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.