Most people wish to be fit and healthy up until old age. Hereto, a healthy and balanced diet can contribute significantly. People who follow a healthy and balanced diet throughout life are at a lower risk of developing type-2-diabetes, cardio-vascular disease or cancer. As has been determined many times, it can be difficult to abandon unhealthy dietary habits in favor of an enduring healthy diet.

This is the focused concern for which the competence cluster “NutriAct” seeks a solution. Therefore, a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the diverse fields of nutrition science, food chemistry and technology, biology, medicine, and the humanities and social sciences, are working together in close cooperation with representatives from the food industry.

The results of the project will support knowledge needed for the improvement to the nutritional and health conditions of 50 to70- year-olds, so they can maintain mental and physical fitness into old age. The investigation is focused on which neurobiological, psychological, social and family factors influence an individual’s choice of food. The existing dietary habits within the capital region of Berlin-Brandenburg were analyzed for the purposes of this study. The information, gathered in the form of dietary patterns, identifies those dietary habits which are the best suited to minimize the risk of aged-related disease. The basis for this is the existing EPIC-Potsdam Study from 1994. Based on this scientific knowledge, suggestions were made for a healthy diet in old age, one which can easily be adapted and permanently be pursued by the population. To make the transition easier to these suggestions, tasty products are being developed with the help of innovative food technologies and food concepts. The acceptance of these newly developed products, their health-enhancing effect, and the feasibility of this special NutriAct-dietary pattern are tested within the scope of this nutritional study. In addition to that, new biological parameters, so called biomarkers, are to be identified and against which the health effect of different dietary habits can be measured and assessed.

NutriAct will make an important contribution to laying the foundation for a healthy aging process. To that end the network partners from more than 30 regional and interregional research institutions and companies are working together intensively.