Good nutrition is vital to health and development. Adequate nutrition contributes to cognitive development for infants and children, better learning outcomes for children and adolescents and promotes productivity throughout life, creating opportunities to break cycles of poverty and hunger.
Food system strategies including fish and aquatic foods can play an important role in addressing the triple burden of malnutrition. Fish is considered a key element of a healthy diet, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, essential vitamins and minerals and animal protein. Benefits of consuming fish and aquatic foods include: reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease; improved maternal health during pregnancy and lactation; improved physical and cognitive development during early childhood; and mitigation of health risks associated with anemia, stunting and child blindness.
Conxemar, the Spanish Association of Wholesalers, Importers, Manufacturers and Exporters of fish products and Aquaculture, in collaboration with FAO, held the ninth edition of its congress, with a focus on the role of fish in nutrition and food systems. This event brought together world-class experts, including high-level representatives from FAO, scientific and academic institutions. Zach Koehn, co-lead author of the BFA Nutrition paper and Early Career Fellow at the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, discussed the role of aquatic foods on healthy diets and equitable food systems.