Columbia University - China Circle Meetings in Beijing and Shanghai
On May 20, the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University and the China Nutrition and Health Food Association hosted a meeting on nutrition research in Beijing. This meeting invited authoritative scholars and researchers from Columbia University, and experts, representatives, and government officials from China's food and nutrition industry to discuss the impact of westernized Chinese food on obesity, cardiovascular system, nervous system diseases and aging, and to assess China's major nutritional problems that will influence the future of China's health condition and economics.
Around 200 people attended the meeting and more than 72,000 people watched the open session livestream through Columbia Global Centers | Beijing's live-streaming platform. Richard J. Deckelbaum, Director of the IHN, introduced the mission and goal of the Columbia University-China Circle. He also shared the health and economic costs of the double burden of addressing both under- and over-nutrition, as well as the cellular mechanisms of Omega-3 fatty acid protection on the liver, heart, and brain. Andrew Moran, Assistant Professor of Medicine at CUMC, talked about the cardiovascular risk factors to China. Yvon Carpentier, former Chairman of the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and Professor at Free University of Brussels, talked about nutrition and aging. Henry Ginsberg, Irving Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, explained the molecular and genetic control of liver lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. Wei Min, Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University, introduced the regulation of fatty acid and cell membrane activities. Estela Area Gomez, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Columbia University, shared the "new" molecule of aging and neurodegeneration.
In the meantime, Keji Li, Professor from Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene of Peking University, Jianqiang Lai, Deputy Director of the National Institute for Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Shian Yin, research fellow at the National Institute for Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on “China Nutrition Westernization: The impact on people's health and economy”.
On May 22, the IHN and the China Nutrition and Health Food Association hosted another meeting in Shanghai, focusing on exploring the molecular mechanisms in adverse conditions and on how to ensure a "healthier" China in the 21st century.
