In an effort to promote and scale efforts in research, education, clinical practice, and policy, leader of the newly established American Nutrition Association (ANA) have published a proposed definition of “Personalized Nutrition” 
 
The ANA said it recognizes personalized nutrition as core to human health and as key to turning the tide on the chronic disease epidemic. As one component of its work to champion the science and practice of personalized nutrition and to catalyze the evolution of the field, the ANA convened a group of experts to craft a definition of personalized nutrition.
 
The authors of the article, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, anticipate that this proposed definition will serve the broader nutrition science community by fostering standards and scalability in research, data, training, products, services, and clinical practice; and assist in driving favorable policy.
 
“This represents a leap forward for the field of personalized nutrition,” said lead author Corinne Bush. “Defining the term and its contours is a critical step toward embedding it in the core of the healthcare system.”
 
Building upon the seminal work of thought leaders across multiple disciplines, the ANA proposed a core definition of personalized nutrition as: “A field that leverages human individuality to drive nutrition strategies that prevent, manage, and treat disease and optimize health, and be delineated by three synergistic elements: personalized nutrition science and data, personalized nutrition professional education and training, and personalized nutrition guidance and therapeutics.
 
The ANA engages a community of scientists, experts, clinicians, food and health industry leaders, and policymakers toward a paradigm shift in the healthcare landscape. CEO Michael Stroka said, “With consensus and collaboration, we can advance personalized nutrition science, train personalized nutrition practitioners, and enhance access to personalized nutrition care. Building on the work done by pioneers across many disciplines, this definition can serve as a springboard to embed personalized nutrition in the healthcare system to prevent, treat, and manage disease, and optimize human health.