Opening Remarks

Toshihiko OSAWA, Ph.D.M
President, THE DANONE INSTITUTE OF JAPAN FOUNDATION
Professor, Department of Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Psycological & Physical Science, Aichi Gakuin University

It is my great honor to announce the opening of the 12th Danone Nutrition Forum cosponsored by THE DANONE INSTITUTE OF JAPAN FOUNDATION (DIJF) and Japan Dietitians’ Association. DIJF is one of the non-profit, scientific organizations established by the Danone Group, a France-based global food company, and the objectives of DIJF are to support research on health and nutrition and to provide health professionals with scientific information on them.

We have held the forum with several themes for providing the recent information on “health and nutrition”. Recently, much attention has focused on the clinical significance of “medical care support team” for all the doctors and healthcare professionals to work equally for the realization of the medical care beneficial to all patients on the medical spot. This forum will mainly focus on “medical nutritional therapy” and deal with theme “The Role of Registered Dietitians in Medical Care Support Team”.

Dr. Teruyoshi Amagai will talk about the clinical significance and perspectives of “medical nutritional therapy” and “medical care support team” as a keynote address based on his great store of knowledge, followed by the symposium and panel discussion on clinical importance of nutritional assessment to give a precise and comprehensive diagnosis of nutritional and pathological conditions of patients, and the role of registered dietitians in “nutritional support team (NST)” and “bedsore care support team” on the medical spot.

The importance of nutritional guidance for “medical care support team” is increasingly recognized. Thus the theme of this forum should be a matter of concern for all participants, and the discussion in this forum will be useful for your future activity.