EXPERT VIEWS

Eliminating Pediatric Malnutrition: A Call for Universal Screening

By: Karyn Wulf, MD, MPH, Pediatric Medical Director at Abbott Appropriate growth during childhood lays the foundation for a lifetime of health. While important, growth alone does not always tell the full story of a child’s health. A child may not be getting all the nutrients they need, and occasional growth screenings may not catch nutrient deficiencies until a child is malnourished. The consequences of nutrient deficiencies can include not only poor growth, but also impaired physical or cognitive development. Identifying children at risk is crucial so that dietary or nutritional interventions can be started long before growth or development issues occur.

Improving Childhood Nutrition with a Multidisciplinary Approach

By: Karyn Wulf MD, MPH, Pediatric Medical Director at Abbott. When it comes to assessing childhood nutrition, it can be more complex than simply making sure your kid eats his or her vegetables. Key outcomes of good childhood nutrition aren’t just linear growth or weight gain, but also includes organ and brain development. Nutritional limitation in any of those areas may cause long-term problems with optimal growth and development. That’s why primary care physicians should consider a team approach when treating kids who are falling behind on growth. 

The Fight Against Malnutrition: Bringing the Value of Nutrition to Healthcare

By: Suela Sulo, PhD, MS, a health outcomes researcher who leads the Health Economics, Outcomes Research, and Policy Work for Abbott’s global nutrition research and development. 

Physical Activity and Good Nutrition Important for Vaccine Response

By Mary Beth Arensberg, PhD, RDN, LDN, FAND Director, Health Policy and Programs, Abbott Originally published in the International Council on Active Aging

Abbott Scientists Rachael Buck and Ricardo Rueda-Cabrera Inducted into AIMBE's 2020 College of Fellows

Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence.” Two of Abbott’s top medical nutrition researchers have spent their careers questioning, and because of that innate curiosity, they have made major contributions to their field –creating widespread impact on the scientific community and in the field of medical nutrition.

Nutrition as a Means of Addressing Health Disparities

The first wealth is health. It’s a sage observation from writer Ralph Waldo Emerson that still rings true today. Yet, despite stunning breakthroughs in research, healthcare, and technology, we still face challenges in helping people live healthier. Rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are dramatically rising, leaving health experts searching for ways to improve the health of people everywhere. That’s why getting back to proper nutrition is more important than ever. Nutrition is the foundation for living your best life. It has the power to support immune health, aid in illness recovery, and prevent disease. 

Women in Science Make a Global Impact

More than ever, women are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and at Abbott, they are conducting groundbreaking research, pioneering innovations, making discoveries, developing breakthrough technologies, bringing products to market and changing lives. Not only that, they're changing the healthcare industry.

The Science of Flavor: Explained

By Dan Schmitz, global director of Product Development and User Experience at Abbott There's more to flavor than what happens in your taste buds. It's a dynamic experience that draws on smell, sight, touch—and even your expectations, cultural upbringing and past experiences.

Feeding the World's Smallest, Most Fragile Babies

By: Bridget Barrett-Reis, Ph.D., RDN, a researcher with Abbott who specializes in neonatal nutrition science.

10 Surprising Factors That May Affect Your Taste

Think about the last thing you ate. Was it salty or sweet, spicy or bitter? Did it taste the way you expected, or did its flavor or texture catch you off guard? Our taste perception — whether we deem a flavor delicious or wrinkle our faces in disgust — is a product of who we are. That means our genetics, cultural backgrounds, where we grew up, and even where we live now can influence how we feel about the things we eat every day.

Experts Look Beyond BMI To Define What's Healthy

For over 200 years, medical professionals have used body mass index (BMI) as a tool to determine the overall health status of an individual. Using a simple equation of weight to height, people can be classified as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese.