The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will establish a standing committee to monitor the current literature and identify emerging issues related to the strength and rigor of scientific evidence in support of nutrition research on chronic disease risk; including effective communication of scientific evidence to the public. The committee will engage in discussions with sponsors about the state of the science on topics focusing on diet and chronic disease relationships that include, but are not limited to:
1. The use of data analytics, modeling, other predictive methodologies and their validation, and evidence synthesis approaches that address the variability in response to diet in nutrition-diet-chronic disease relationships;
2. The range of evidence synthesis of approaches that advance the strength of scientific evidence on causal relationships between diet and chronic disease;
3. Communication of benefit, risk, and uncertainty in health research to the public to inform decision-making about diet to reduce risk of chronic disease; and
4. Consistent messaging about chronic disease prevention or risk reduction across stakeholder organizations and institutions.
Within these subject areas, the committee may also consider broader issues such as conflict of interest and objectivity; standards of scientific rigor and reproducibility; transparency; and accountability. Workshops will be undertaken by separately appointed ad hoc committees with the necessary expertise to identify relevant topics for exploration and to identify speakers. The full standing committee will meet to identify emerging issues, be briefed on new scientific methods or approaches relevant to other issues of interest and discuss areas of expertise that should be added to or dropped from the standing committee. The committee will also discuss topics in conference calls and email correspondence, recommending future work and conducting other business.