New insights into ending chronic disease.
PRESS
The Danone Institute, NOV. 2, 2005
The Danone International Prize for Nutrition
Professor David JP Barker — Winner of the 2005 Danone International Prize for Nutrition
UK top-level scientist rewarded for his pioneering role within the area of diet, nutrition and chronic adult disease.
The 5th edition of the Danone International Prize for Nutrition is awarded to Professor David JP Barker of Oregon Health and Science University, USA and University of Southampton, UK for his pioneering role in the area of diet, nutrition and chronic adult disease. The official announcement of Professor David JP Barker as the recipient of the 2005 Danone International Prize for Nutrition was made on September 20, 2005 at the 18th International Congress of Nutrition in Durban, South Africa.
"The goal of the Danone International Prize for Nutrition is to promote public health through better nutrition worldwide, particularly by encouraging top-level scientists to create new scientific concepts and approaches in nutrition and, as a result of this, finding effective solutions that will help people live healthier lives. This year, we are proud to award the Prize to Professor DJP Barker, an exceptional researcher whose novel concepts have been breaking new ground in the area of diet, nutrition and chronic disease", says Professor Manuel Serrano Rios, Chairman of the Danone Institute International.
"It gives us real pleasure to announce that the winner of the 2005 edition of the Danone International Prize for Nutrition is Professor DJP Barker. His outstanding contribution in unraveling the origins of chronic adult disease has opened new scientific avenues that will help us better understand and, importantly, prevent the rising epidemic of such medical disorders," says Professor Marcello Giovanni, Chairman of the Jury of the 2005 Danone International Prize for Nutrition. "We congratulate Professor Barker on his exemplary career and we are confident his current and future endeavors will prove equally fertile".
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The global burden of chronic diseases
The rapidly increasing burden of chronic diseases is a key determinant of global health. Chronic diseases are now the major cause of death and disability worldwide. Conditions including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, and respiratory diseases, now account for 59% of the 57 million deaths annually and 46% of the global burden of disease. Chronic diseases increasingly affect people from developed as well as developing countries. In the developing world it is estimated that already 79% of deaths are attributable to chronic diseases.
In this light, a better understanding and, as a result, better prevention of these diseases is the key. Today, one possible explanation is gaining more and more ground among scientists, namely the concept of the continuity of human lives from fetus to old age. This new development model, which has opened new scientific avenues and created novel approaches in the area of diet, nutrition and chronic disease, results from the pioneering work of Professor David Barker
The Hypothesis of the Developmental Origins of Chronic Adult Disease
The Barker Early Origins Hypothesis, also known as the fetal origins hypothesis or the thirty phenotype hypothesis is founded on the concept that fetal growth restriction - due to nutritional deprivation in early life - is an important cause of some of the most common, costly and disabling medical disorders of adult life including coronary heart disease and the related disorders hypertension, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
Barker first put forth his hypothesis in 1986. His research group was puzzled that coronary heart disease was the most common cause of death among men who otherwise had low risk, being slim, non-smokers, and having a low blood cholesterol. This suggested that the aetiology of coronary heart disease needed further exploration. Extensive work led to the Barker Early Origins Hypothesis. Dozens of large-scale epidemiological and experimental studies conducted in Europe, USA, Asia, and elsewhere have demonstrated a strong link between low birth weight and increased risk of developing chronic disease in later life. The list of chronic diseases linked to birth weight now includes osteoporosis, chronic obstructive lung disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, cancers of the breast, ovary and prostate, and mental disorders including schizophrenia and depression.
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The Barker Hypothesis: Implications for public health policie
The Barker Hypothesis suggest a new strategy for the prevention of "Western disease," which will focus on the nutrition of girls, young women and their babies, as well as the lifestyle of men and women in middle age.
According to Professor Barker, public health policies should include:
the avoidance of excessive thinness or overweight in mothers before conception;
access to a varied and balanced diet for girls and young women, protection
of infant growth and rapid increase in fatness among young children who
had small body size at birth and during infancy.
About The Danone International Prize for Nutrition
The Danone International Prize for Nutrition is awarded every two years by the non for profit Association "Danone Institute International" with the scientific support of the French Medical Research Foundation (Foundation Recherche Medicale.
The Prize stands for the commitment of Danone Institute International to promote and encourage innovative nutrition related research, and thus highlight the importance of nutrition in the overall field of human health.
The Danone International Prize for Nutrition awards 120,000 Euro (approximately $150,000 U.S. dollars) to a researcher or team of researchers whose approaches and concepts have crossed the frontiers of nutrition by either basic or applied research.
The organization of the award initially involved 700 nutrition research institutions worldwide in finding potential laureates. About 7 to 9 international key opinion leaders are involved with the selection process. Today, the Danone International Prize for Nutrition is the world's most respected initiative within the field of nutritional research.
