UN Bolsters Dietary Guidelines with Nuclear Techniques

The IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) spotlighted how nuclear techniques generate big data that become key tools for designing effective dietary guidelines at Rome Nutrition Week 2026 .

The global food system is shifting rapidly. More frequent extreme weather events, rising food costs and persistent malnutrition are making healthy diets increasingly difficult to achieve.

The FAO/IAEA joint session on "Data-Driven, Food Systems-Based Approaches to Strengthen Dietary Guidelines" underscored the importance of inter‑agency and multisectoral collaboration in developing evidence‑based and policy‑relevant dietary guidelines that are fit for a changing world.

The IAEA presented its database on total energy expenditure and a new database on protein and amino acid digestibility in the joint session and highlighted how resulting novel data analyses can support shaping dietary guidelines. The event also featured a case study on how Mexico integrated dietary guidelines into its regulatory frameworks, as well as presentations on national efforts in Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan and Madagascar to collect, maintain and convert dietary guidelines using the new food systems approach.

Nuclear techniques play a key role in generating data on nutrition, for example, on energy metabolism and protein digestibility.

"Building on data generated using these techniques, the IAEA compiles and hosts databases that enable advanced research on human health and nutrition, supporting countries in designing and evaluating nutrition interventions," said Cornelia Loechl, Section Head in the IAEA's Division of Human Health | IAEA . "These databases are already shaping international dialogue on the next generation of recommendations for optimum energy and protein intake."

The database on total energy expenditure informs joint FAO/IAEA work to review human energy requirements. Discussions also took place on how updating these recommendations might affect different stakeholder groups that use this information. The scientific basis of the new approach to determining energy requirements will be published, and data will continue to be added to the database.

A new database on protein and amino acid digestibility , currently under development as a joint FAO/IAEA initiative, will help countries to develop protein-specific dietary guidelines. To complement this database, which is expected to be launched and available to users on the FAO website by the end of 2026, the IAEA has issued a call for proposals for a new Coordinated Research Project (CRP) to assess protein quality from alternative protein sources and amino acid requirements. The CRP will generate data on alternative dietary protein sources widely consumed in low- and middle-income countries that will further enrich the database.

"The traditional approach to dietary guidelines development, which focused mainly on nutrient adequacy without due consideration for other factors such as cost, food availability or the sustainability of food systems, or how dietary guidelines can be used to inform policy, must evolve," said Ana Islas Ramos, an FAO Nutrition Officer. "Moving forward, a broader spectrum of data and evidence is needed as a basis for coherent, realistic, food systems-based and context-specific dietary guidelines that directly shape national policy."

The joint FAO/IAEA database on protein digestibility is just one example of collaborative nutrition action featured at Rome Nutrition Week 2026. Held annually, the event provides a platform for advancing coordinated nutrition action across the United Nations system and beyond.

"Since 2024, Rome Nutrition Week has been serving as a key global platform for dialogue and action - a space where policy meets technology, where data informs decisions, and where a problem-solving mindset reminds us of what is possible for nutrition impact," said the current Chair of UN-Nutrition, Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications.

"Shaping the Future of Joint Nutrition Action in a Changing World" was the theme of Rome Nutrition Week 2026, which brought together governments, UN agencies, civil society, academia and other stakeholders to accelerate collective action.