Nutrition & Health

Promoting healthy diets and healthy lifestyles has been a priority of the European Commission for its past three mandates. A key focus has been placed on multi-stakeholder initatives, with the recognition of industry’s critical role to be part of the solution. The European specialised nutrition industry is committed to helping European consumers achieve healthy and balanced diets with foods designed to meet their specific nutritional needs. SNE and its members are also encouraging the development of a common nutrition and health agenda at EU level to tackle today’s societal challenges such as rising obesity rates, malnutrition and food allergies.

Obesity is one of the greatest public health issues that the EU faces. Data shows that half of European people are overweight and 20% are obese. SNE and its members are committed to helping obese and overweight people take control of their weight with a balanced diet. While dieting is a recognized pillar for the treatment of obesity, slimming foods are one of the best tools available to consumers, guaranteeing weight loss without any deficiency in essential nutrients. In parallel to the obesity pandemic, 20 million people are at risk of malnutrition in the EU, primarily among hospital patients and the ageing population. Very often, there will be little ability to meet their nutritional needs through normal foods. In this context, food for special medical purposes developed by SNE members is the most effective way to provide them with the essential nutrients.

Sports and physical activity represent a way of life for millions of Europeans. It also plays a key role in combatting non-communicable diseases and improving mental health. At the same time, sports and other physical activities may push the body to extreme conditions, and will require intense hydration and higher sodium and protein intakes. This is why proper nutrition is critical to prepare for, maintain, and recover from intense sports. Sports foods are specifically formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of physical performance and recovery after exercise. They contain essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids, or sugars in quantities which are not appropriate for normal foods. SNE and its members are committed to inform consumers how to correctly use these products and label the nutritional composition in a way that is relevant for their specific use.

SNE is proud Sport nutrition partner of the European Week of Sport, an intiative led by the European Commission and co-organised by national coordinators and sport partners all over Europe, promoting an active lifestyle through a variety of celebrations and events.

Nutrition is key in people’s everyday lives, and in the frame of high-intense/ extreme physical activity, nutrition is becoming even more important . Sportspeople need to trust the foods they are consuming, whether it is linked to their body’s performance, body’s recovery or sport competition’s results, implying the absence of doping substances in their diet. Sports food manufacturers under SNE umbrella are strongly committed to ensure consumers’ confidence in achieving these goals.