Nutrition and behavior changing concepts, changing concerns

The notion that foods and nutrients influence brain function and behavior has generated widespread interest in the scientific community. However, scientists who have ventured into the controversy face ambiguous data and poor scientific methods. Nevertheless the relationship between diet and behavior affect each of us in ways we may not yet appreciate, let alone understand. From a broader point of view, those concerned with public health will be interested in this relationship, whether in the handling of, say, children with malnutrition or behavioral problems, or adults with obesity.
 
It is essential that the understanding of diet and behavior is based on hard science so that advice offered and acted upon is not a mere guess or semi-empirical inference.

A. Trichopoulou, MD
Director of the National Center of Nutrition
Athens