Mission Statement

The mission of the Human Nutrition Program is to define the role of food and its components in optimizing health throughout the life cycle for all Americans by conducting high national priority research.

Program Vision

Well-nourished Americans making health-promoting diet choices based on scientific evidence.

Relevance

This program addresses research needs that will lead to improved dietary recommendations and a healthier population. The ARS Human Nutrition Action Plan supports:

• The USDA Strategic Plan for FY 2005-2010 – Objective 5.2
• The ARS Strategic Plan for FY2006-2011 – Performance Measures 5.2.1, 5.2,2, and 5.2.3

Program Priorities

1.    Nutrition Monitoring and the Food Supply

    1A: Determine Food Consumption and Dietary Patterns of Americans

   1B: Determine Food Consumption and Dietary Patterns of “At-Risk” Populations in the United States

1C: Provide U.S. Food Composition Data

1D: Enhance the Health-Promoting Quality of the Food Supply

2.    Scientific Basis for Dietary Guidance for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

2A: Identify Roles of Food, Nutrients, Food Components, and Physical Activity in Promoting Health and Preventing Disease

2B: Improve the Scientific Basis for Updating National Dietary Standards and Guidelines

3.    Prevention of Obesity and Related Diseases

3A: Understand the Causes and Consequences of Obesity and Related Disorders 

3B: Develop and Evaluate Strategies to Prevent Obesity and Related Diseases 

3C: Evaluate the Role of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in Preventing Obesity

4.    Life Stage Nutrition and Metabolism

4A: Understand Mechanisms by which Nutrition Promotes Healthy Development and Function from Conception to Old Age

4B: Define the Nutritional Bases for, and Consequences of, Nutritional Programming

Long Term Outcomes

ARS human nutrition research …

• Provides unique data on food composition and national dietary habits that serve as the foundation for most epidemiological studies of diet and health
• Emphasizes the role of foods and dietary patterns in maintaining health and preventing disease across the lifecycle
• Contributes to solving the high rate of obesity and related disorders
• Develops news methods of studying nutritional effects on development and aging
• Generates high-impact scientific research that changes paradigms used in nutrition research