Meeting Report Abstracts of the 43rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of Australia Sandra Iuliano 1,*, Kirrilly Pursey 2, Rebecca Haslam 2 and Alison Coates 3 1 Department of Endocrinology, University of Melbourne/Austin Health, West Heidelberg 3081, Australia 2 School of Health Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia; [email protected] (K.P); [email protected] (R.H.) 3 School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, Australia; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +61-438-215-615 Received: 27 January 2020; Accepted: 7 February 2020; Published: 21 February 2020 Abstract: The 43rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of Australia was held in Newcastle, Australia, from 2 to 5 December 2019. The theme of the meeting was Nutrition: The Epicentre of Health. Abstracts were submitted from 24 countries. The conference was attended by 250 registrants and 208 papers were presented consisting of 16 plenary, 91 oral and 101 poster presentations. This issue presents the proceedings of this meeting in the form of abstracts of papers presented at the conference. Keywords: ageing; agriculture and farming; chronic diseases; communication and education; food security; genomics; gut microbiota; micronutrients; nutrition; public health 1. Plenary Presentations 1.1. Sustainability Implications of Different Food Production Systems Mario Herrero Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Brisbane, Australia Our food system, while providing food for billions of people, is currently malnourishing us. It directly affects one in three people around the world, causing stunting, wasting or obesity. The way in which we currently produce food is having substantial negative impacts on the environment in many parts of the world, and is trespassing several planetary boundaries. A global acceptance of the need for more sustainable food systems has emerged. We are beginning to gain a greater understanding of how our food systems and diets impact our health and the environment. For example, we have reached consensus that dietary changes will be needed. The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems advocates for largely a plant-based diet, with consumption of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts at the centre, and plant- and animal-sourced protein in judicious quantities. It recognises that regions will need different approaches to attain a healthy diet; some regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific will need to increase consumption of animal-sourced foods to meet basic nutrition standards, while higher-income countries will need to reduce consumption of animal-sourced foods. To make our food systems more sustainable, we also need to carefully consider how we produce food. Increasing productivity will remain essential, but also reducing waste significantly will be necessary. Some of these waste streams will need to be reintroduced in the food system through circular economy principles. There is no silver bullet to attain sustainable and healthy food systems—we need an arsenal of approaches to be able to achieve a more healthy and sustainable food system. Proceedings 2020, 43, 2; doi:10.3390/proceedings2020043002 www.mdpi.com/journal/proceedings Proceedings 2020, 43, 2 2 of 96 1.2. Salt, Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Disease Feng He Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK Salt reduction lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a global target of reducing salt intake to <5 g/d. This has been challenged by several cohort studies which suggested a J-shaped relationship between salt and CVD. However, these studies had methodological problems, e.g., reverse causality, biased estimations of salt intake. Findings from such studies should not be used to derail critical public-health policy. Gradual, stepwise salt reduction as recommended by the WHO remains an achievable, affordable, effective, and important strategy to prevent CVD worldwide. The question now is how to reduce salt intake. In most developed countries, salt reduction can be achieved by a gradual and sustained reduction in the amount of salt added to food by the food industry. The UK has pioneered a successful salt-reduction programme by setting incremental targets for >85 categories of food; many other developed countries are following the UK’s lead. In developing countries where most of the salt is added by consumers, public-health campaigns have a major role. Every country should adopt a coherent, workable strategy. Even a modest reduction in population salt intake can lead to major improvements in public health and cost-savings. 1.3. Assessing Dietary Patterns and Diet Quality and Associations with Health Outcomes Sarah McNaughton Institute of Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia Dietary intake is a complex exposure, with multiple layers reflecting a continuum from nutrients to foods to eating occasions to overall dietary patterns. Conceptually, dietary patterns examine the combinations, types and amounts of foods consumed in the diet and reflect a measure of total diet. There is now a global consensus that food and nutrition policies should be informed by evidence regarding dietary patterns and nutritional epidemiology has a critical role to play in providing this evidence. Dietary patterns are assessed using two main approaches, namely, data-driven approaches based on multivariate statistical techniques as or investigator-defined patterns commonly based on ‘a priori’ dietary guidelines or recommendations (e.g., diet quality scores). Dietary patterns research has developed substantially in the last 15 years and research shows that dietary patterns are important predictors of chronic disease and all-cause mortality. However, there are still significant knowledge gaps. There is still a lack of primary studies for some health outcomes and population groups and fundamental questions relating to the application of dietary pattern methodologies. Fundamental work to understand the impact of different methods, and the development of consensus around use and reporting of dietary patterns primary studies is required to fully optimise the use of dietary-pattern evidence in the development of dietary guidelines. 1.4. Maternal Diet Quality and Cardiovascular Consequences for the Next Generation Michael Skilton Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia. Early life exposures are emerging risk factors for adult cardiovascular disease, with a robust body of evidence causally linking impaired fetal growth with adult cardiovascular disease. Diet during pregnancy can affect fetal growth and risk of developing gestational diabetes. As such, it stands to reason that maternal dietary quality during pregnancy may be a powerful modifiable risk factor for long-term health and disease of the offspring. However, associations of maternal dietary intake with offspring cardiovascular outcomes may be confounded Proceedings 2020, 43, 2 3 of 96 by the shared environment and learned lifestyle. Determining the aspects of maternal dietary intake that directly influence cardiovascular health in the offspring is potentially important from a life course perspective. Early life markers of cardiovascular health, such as non-invasive measures of atherosclerosis, are particularly useful for studying these potentially direct effects, as are established cardiovascular risk factors and mechanistic risk factors. Using this approach, there is a growing body of literature that indicates that dietary quality, particularly carbohydrate quality and dietary fatty acid profile, are maternal dietary characteristics which may have a direct intergenerational effect on cardiovascular risk. 1.5. Cardiovascular Health Following Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Melinda Hutchesson University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia Over half a million Australian women have cardiovascular disease (CVD), and three in 10 deaths among women are as result of CVD. Some risk factors for CVD are unique to women, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia. Women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are four times more likely to have hypertension and two times more likely to die of CVD than women with normotensive pregnancies. Up to 10% of pregnancies are impacted by hypertensive disorders and, therefore, each year a large number of women’s CVD risk is inevitably amplified. Clinical practice guidelines recommend women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy receive counselling regarding modifiable risk factors for CVD (i.e., poor diet, excess body weight, physical inactivity and smoking). However, many women who have experienced hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are unaware of their increased risk of CVD, and most report they have not received counselling from health professionals about modifiable risk factors as recommended. My presentation will discuss emerging research of the influence of modifiable risk factors on the cardiovascular health of women following hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including CVD prevention strategies currently