Second Century - A Thriving World

Second Century - A Thriving World


A Thriving World: Creating a future where people and communities flourish through the transformational power of food and nutrition

The world faces unique threats to ensuring the health of all people and communities: a rapidly growing population, the dual burden of undernutrition and obesity and escalating rates of chronic disease. The combination of limited food options and poor food choices, in both developed and developing countries, contributes to exorbitant costs — in quality of life, health care expenses and loss of human and economic productivity.

These enormous challenges cannot be solved by any organization working alone. However, organizations who recognize that these challenges represent innovative opportunities throughout the food, nutrition and health system can collaborate to change the trajectory of health in the world.

Improving access to healthful food and driving innovation are imperative to scaling health and nutrition strategies globally. Through collaboration, these opportunities include:

  • Building on the latest human behavior research to support better decision-making around food.
  • Supporting advancements in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, obesity and chronic disease.
  • Pairing developments in genetics, nutrition informatics and information technologies with emerging health care models to deliver care and improved outcomes, opening a new space for innovation.

And with this focus on food and nutrition as the basis for good health, communities can thrive in unprecedented ways.

The Academy’s Second Century represents a moment to continue the conversation and take action with those who are at the forefront of creating positive global change.

For the past 100 years, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has been dedicated to building a profession that optimizes health through food and nutrition. In 1917, the profession was pioneered by a visionary group of women committed to contributing their knowledge and service to the biggest food and nutrition challenge of the day — nourishing the population in the face of severe food shortages in the U.S. and in Europe during World War I.

Today, the Academy is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, representing more than 100,000 registered dietitian nutritionists and nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered, working across the food and health spectrum in hospitals, foodservice, academia, business, wellness, agriculture and private practice. Together, with its members and allied health professionals, the Academy has spent the last century improving the nation’s health through research, education and advocacy.

The Academy is charting a new vision for the future, grounded in an extraordinary commitment to collaboration, a focus on service and an emphasis on accelerating the progress towards solving the greatest food and nutrition challenges of the 21st century — creating a world where people and communities flourish because of the transformational power of food and nutrition.