This proposal outlines a comprehensive pathway for achieving sustainable healthy diets by fostering the next generation of interdisciplinary research and development in nutrition. By integrating perspectives from the molecular to the individual level, the objective is to thoroughly investigate the mechanisms by which diet affects human health and to develop evidence-based interventions for practical implementation in society.

With its rapidly aging society, Japan is grappling with the critical need to combat chronic diseases, extend healthy life expectancy and optimize healthcare costs. These issues are increasingly prevalent worldwide, and nutritional strategies are increasingly recognized as key to mitigating their impact. Epidemiological evidence highlights the central role of diet in maintaining health, improving well-being and preventing disease. Taking the most from nutrition research via deciphering how food and nutrition work in our bodies, we could maximize the advantage of nutritional interventions. As the global drive for sustainable food systems gains significant momentum, Japan needs to proactively develop and implement policies that consider both the domestic and global contexts to transition to sustainable healthy diets. Despite the growing importance of nutrition science, Japan has made limited progress in building a strong scientific base, developing evidence-based nutritional interventions and implementing them strategically in society.

The inherent complexity of nutrition science, combined with methodological challenges, has hindered fundamental understanding and left significant knowledge gaps. Recent advances in measurement and analytical technologies, including artificial intelligence and data science, are enabling quantitative assessment of dietary habits and nutritional status, and elucidation of nutritional and metabolic mechanisms. These developments mark a new era in nutrition science. Based on the analyses of current issues described above, we propose the following seven pillars of research and development for achieving sustainable healthy diets:

• 1. Integrated analysis of molecular networks of food constituents and nutrients
• 2. Mechanistic insights into the role of diet and nutrition in metabolic homeostasis
• 3. Understanding the onset and progression of diet-related diseases and developing proactive interventions
• 4. Development of advanced measurement, data analysis and evaluation technologies for nutrition science
• 5. Establishing a real-world data (RWD) database on diet and nutrition
• 6. Exploring dietary patterns in the transformation of sustainable food systems
• 7. Drafting strategies for societal implementation of the transition to sustainable healthy diets

The integrated promotion of these research and development pillars is essential to maximize research outcomes. To achieve this, the proposal advocates the establishment of an interministerial virtual research platform to support the development of key infrastructures and the strategic promotion of research covering basic science, clinical applications and societal implementation.

These research and development pillars aim to accelerate the transition to sustainable healthy diets and to generate far-reaching future social and economic benefits, including the revitalization of related industries (healthcare, food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, insurance, etc.) and the optimization of healthcare costs.

• (in Japanese) The Next Generation of Nutrition Science - Paving the way to sustainable healthy diets: an integrated approach encompassing from molecular to society -