The Texas A&M Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Evidence Center presented its first set of studies, funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, NASEM, at NUTRITION 2024, the annual flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. The conference draws top nutrition scientists for research sessions, presentations, and lectures.
Established in 2021, the Evidence Center’s mission is to produce transparent and reproducible evidence reviews and syntheses to assess the effectiveness of agri-food policies, practices and guidelines on agricultural, environmental, human and economic health.
Experts from the Evidence Center were selected to give five oral presentations based on research funded by NASEM, as well as two poster presentations based on other projects. This included a presentation by Maureen Spill, Ph.D., who was named the Evidence Center’s first associate director in May.
“The fact that the Evidence Center is making its professional debut at NUTRITION 2024 is huge,” Spill said. “This conference is where the best nutrition scientists come together to drive scientific advances that lead to better policy and better human health. The Evidence Center team is proud to be at the forefront of that innovation.”
The presented series of studies is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine study that examines the current scientific evidence on the relationship between fish consumption and child growth and development. This review focuses on the intake of fish by mothers and children and its impact on various aspects of development. The aim is to gain the latest insights into the role of fish consumption within the context of a comprehensive diet.
The presented conclusions of the Evidence Center
The Evidence Center completed two complementary de novo systematic reviews assessing the associations between seafood consumption and neurocognitive development in children and adolescents. The first review assessed the associations between maternal seafood consumption during pregnancy and breastfeeding and child neurocognitive development. Results showed that seafood consumption during pregnancy may be favorably associated with child behavior, attention, and global developmental outcomes.
The second systematic review assessed the relationships between seafood consumption during childhood and adolescence and neurocognitive development. Seafood consumption, primarily in the form of fatty fish, resulted in favorable cognitive developmental and behavioral outcomes during childhood and adolescence. These results support previous research conducted at the US Department of Agriculture to inform future dietary guidelines on seafood intake during pregnancy.
Identifying the Benefits and Risks of Seafood in Diets
Although seafood consumption has nutritional benefits, it carries a risk of exposure to environmental contaminants. A scoping review assessed the body of evidence examining exposure to seafood toxins during pregnancy, lactation, and childhood and their association with childhood outcomes. They identified exposure-outcome pairs with sufficient evidence across multiple studies that may warrant a systematic review and highlighted gaps in the existing research literature.
Based on the findings of the scoping review, a systematic review was conducted to investigate the association between maternal lead exposure through seafood consumption and child neurodevelopment. Overall, the evidence suggested no adverse impact of maternal lead exposure through seafood on child neurodevelopment, and seafood consumption was associated with improved neurodevelopmental scores overall. However, the limited number of studies calls for further research in diverse populations to further understand this association.
Mercury is a common contaminant in seafood with potential adverse effects on child development. An umbrella review of existing systematic reviews examined pre- and postnatal mercury exposure and childhood outcomes. More than 20 relevant systematic reviews were included and covered all childhood outcomes of interest identified by the NASEM committee, except academic achievement and failure to thrive. Several reviews addressed autism spectrum disorder, developmental domains, and growth, most of which were rated as moderate to high.
Highest quality standards for evidence
In addition to the NASEM-funded studies, Evidence Center team members presented posters on their systematic review examining associations between universal free school meals and school and student outcomes. Poster presentations included a summary of an expert consultation on the accuracy of tests that assess excess adiposity in children and adolescents for the diagnosis of obesity in support of World Health Organization guideline development for the clinical management of childhood obesity.
Amanda MacFarlane, Ph.D., director of the Evidence Center, said the team holds itself to the highest standards in conducting its work. The Evidence Center promotes scientific rigor and transparency — the foundation for translating scientific evidence into reproducible, evidence-based solutions to improve public health.
“This opportunity to present our research to the best minds in nutritional science is incredible,” said MacFarlane. “The team’s findings will inform scientists, researchers and policymakers as they develop evidence-based dietary recommendations and identify areas that warrant further investigation, which in turn drives improvements in human health.”
