Weekly Roundup: Holland & Barrett under fire for “Weight Management” usage, Gaps in care for diabetic pregnant women

06 Dec 2019 --- In nutrition news this week, Holland & Barrett came under fire for its use of “Weight Management” as a product category heading on its website. Meanwhile, The World Cancer Research Fund updated its database of implemented nutrition policies from around the world that promote healthy diets. A new analysis from Diabetes UK highlighted that gaps in support are leaving thousands of diabetic pregnant women in England, Wales and the Isle of Man at risk of serious complications. Finally, Arctic Nutrition and Møreforsking are set to collaborate on omega 3 fatty acids and inflammation research.

In brief: Regulation and policy
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned health retailer Holland & Barrett from using “Weight Management” as a product category heading on its website. This followed two complaints arguing that this usage was a health claim that would be understood to apply to all the products featured within the category. ASA then challenged whether the claim was authorized on the EU Register for each product in that category. ASA further noted that consumers would understand food supplements placed in the Weight Management category to have the inherent function of helping them to control or maintain their weight. This is in contrast to products that would enable the user to undertake other activities that would help them maintain their weight, as would be the case with fitness clothing and equipment. The company can now only use the weight management categorization if it has evidence that those products are capable of carrying an equivalent health claim that was authorized on the EU Register.Nourishing is a global database of implemented nutrition policies that promote healthy diets.

The World Cancer Research Fund has updated Nourishing, its global database of implemented nutrition policies that promote healthy diets. The Nourishing framework aims to highlight where governments need to take action to promote healthy diets and reduce obesity. The latest policies and policy evaluations to be added include Transport for London (TfL)’s ban on junk food advertisements; Amsterdam’s ban on junk food promotion to children and teenagers in metro stations; the sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax in the Seychelles and in Catalonia; front-of-pack warning labels on foods high in sodium, sugar, saturated and trans fats in Peru; and a five-year review of Australia’s Health Star Rating on food.

In brief: Research and studies
Gaps in support are leaving thousands of diabetic pregnant women in England, Wales and the Isle of Man at risk of serious complications, according to a new analysis from Diabetes UK. The 2017/2018 National Pregnancy in Diabetes (NPID) audit showed that almost one in two babies of women with diabetes are large for their gestational age. Moreover, it showed that admissions to neonatal units remain very high for babies of women with diabetes when compared to the general population. Despite progress to improve care in some areas, women with diabetes still have significantly poorer outcomes in pregnancy than the general population. The organization is urging healthcare professionals to be aware of the differences in care that women with different types of diabetes may need.

In brief: Awards and recognition
Lallemand Health Solutions (LHS) has announced the winner of its LHS Innovation Grant under the Rosell Institute for Microbiome and Probiotics Innovation Program umbrella. The recipient of the grant is Angus McQuibban, Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto. His lab is studying the fundamental mechanisms of mitochondrial quality control pathways and how they impinge on human disease. The Canadian national funding competition is in collaboration with nonprofit national research organization Mitacs, and was created to create opportunities for sustainable partnerships with researchers across Canada, to provide training opportunities for students and to foster breakthrough research.

A collaboration between Norway-based companies Arctic Nutrition and Møreforsking will address research questions on omega 3 fatty acids and inflammation.In brief: Business news
A collaboration between Norway-based companies Arctic Nutrition and Møreforsking will address research questions on omega 3 fatty acids and inflammation to support the development of Arctic Nutrition’s marine drug. Møreforsking conducts basic and applied research for industrial and commercial development in the marine sector both at the national and international levels. Meanwhile, Arctic Nutrition focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing premium ingredients extracted from herring roe.

ChromaDex and Matakana Health (MHL) have announced an expanded retail partnership in Australia and New Zealand until 2023. This followed the receipt of approval of ChromaDex’s nicotinamide riboside chloride (NR or Niagen) as an ingredient in listed complementary medicines from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). “Tru Niagen has been taken up by New Zealanders with great enthusiasm and we expect to see the same level of excitement and adoption of this groundbreaking product from Australians in 2020,” says Kevin Glucina, Matakana Health CEO. Last month, the European Commission voted in favor of listing NR as a novel food. The supplement increases nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which stimulates cellular energy production and supports cellular repair.

Edited by Katherine Durrell