"Despite advances in public health nutrition , the prevalence of malnutrition is still high, mainly in countries at development, and obesity and other non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and dementia are also on the rise globally". This was stated by Catherine Geissler, administrative assistant general of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) and emeritus professor at King's College London, winner of the XI International Food and Health award awarded by the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra. This recognition, linked to the Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics of the academic center, is awarded annually to prestigious national and international researchers and academics who stand out in the fields of food and health.

Geissler has an extensive international research career in the field of Community Nutrition, with a particular focus on malnutrition. Throughout her degree program she has been president of the UK Nutrition Society and has served on advisory and consulting boards for institutions such as the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the European Parliament, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Before an audience of 175 people, the nutrition expert presented some of the latest and most effective global nutrition policies and interventions collected by the WHO in projects such as eLENA (an online Library Services with evidence-based guidelines on nutrition interventions) or GINA (a global database with information for implementing nutrition actions). Among them, there is also the latest report of the group formed by UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank on child malnutrition in the world that points out that 159 million children are still malnourished, 41 million are overweight (10 million more than two decades ago), and 50 million go hungry.

III Healthy Eating Day

Geissler's intervention was part of the celebration of the III Healthy Eating Day organized by the School Pharmacy on the occasion of World Food Day. Throughout the workshop , the Mediterranean per diem expenses has been promoted in the cafeterias, canteens and vending machines of the university campus . In addition, information points have been installed in these establishments, run by students of Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics to answer questions about food.