The Fondo Nestlé para la Nutrición (Nestlé Nutrition Fund - FNN) is an arm of the
Mexican Health Foundation (FUNSALUD, Spanish acronym) aimed at developing programmes and actions to encourage the nutrition of the Mexican population. The FNN was established by Nestlé Mexico in partnership with FUNSALUD in 1993.
The main purpose of the FNN is to enhance the nutrition of the Mexican population working on the following objectives:
1. On the strengthening of nutrition education in Mexico
The clinical teaching of nutrition has been successfully and permanently established in the curriculum of medicine and nutrition programmes throughout the FNN’s 16 years of action.
The findings of performance surveys are encouraging and sharply differ from the situation prevailing in 1992: currently, more than half of the surveyed managers state that a nutrition course is already in place within their organisation and one third of them has specialised teachers. One third of schools have developed an infrastructure for the teaching of nutrition and managers at large expressed their interest in continuing the promotion and support of nutrition education within their organisations.
A critical element of this strategy has been the ongoing publication of study texts, which are a fundamental pillar to reinforce clinical nutrition education in Mexico.
2. On the fostering of scientific research on nutrition
The FNN has backed the creation and development of various nutrition graduate courses by means of a Nestlé Scholarship Programme related to renowned educational institutions in Mexico: the clinical nutrition graduate programme for physicians offered by the INCMNSZ, the major in clinical nutrition for nutriologists at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), and the specialisation in obesity management for nutriologists at the INCMNSZ.
3. On the diffusion of nutrition knowledge
The FNN held seven international conferences that have built a link between domestic researchers and research groups and trends around the world. This has brought new opportunities for domestic scientific research to develop sound and significant scientific knowledge focused on solving the nutrition problems of the Mexican population.
Furthermore, the FNN publishes the bulletin Nutrición hoy (Nutrition Today), which disseminates the Fund’s actions as well as nutrition and feeding-related knowledge. It has also developed an electronic portal with a virtual library containing books, texts and articles on human nutrition at different stages of life – from conception to old age.
4. On the design and implementation of preventive measures
The FNN has designed and implemented regional preventive action programmes built on research into Mexico’s gastronomic diversity. Starting at the Yucatan Peninsula, the Fund developed a detailed analysis on regional habits, supported by Yucatan institutions. This gave rise to the implementation of the “Nutre y Mueve Tu Vida” (Nourish and Move Your Life) programme designed to foster the consumption of fruit and vegetables and the practice of physical exercise. It also undertook an investigation in the state of Aguascalientes aimed at promoting a regional programme that will lead to improved feeding habits and the choice of a healthy lifestyle among the Mexican population.
The FNN’s programmes are followed up with the assistance and advice of an advisory board composed of scientific and academic leaders, a dean of research on pediatrics and a dean of the business managing body, Executive presidents of Nestlé México and FUNSALUD.
The FNN’s programmes are carried out with the support of a technical committee constituted by Nestlé Mexico’s executives, a scientific coordinator from FUNSALUD and a link coordinator between Nestlé and FUNSALUD. The staff in charge of the programme's implementation is composed of advisors in public healthcare, epidemiology, nutrition, demographics, sociology, and scientific and statistical analysis.