The landscape of nutri-informatics: a review of current resources and challenges for integrative nutrition research

Abstract

Informatics has become an essential component of research in the past few decades, capitalizing on the efficiency and power of computation to improve the knowledge gained from increasing quantities and types of data. While other fields of research such as genomics are well represented in informatics resources, nutrition remains underrepresented. Nutrition is one of the most integral components of human life, and it impacts individuals far beyond just nutrient provisions. For example, nutrition plays a role in cultural practices, interpersonal relationships and body image. Despite this, integrated computational investigations have been limited due to challenges within nutrition informatics (nutri-informatics) and nutrition data. The purpose of this review is to describe the landscape of nutri-informatics resources available for use in computational nutrition research and clinical utilization. In particular, we will focus on the application of biomedical ontologies and their potential to improve the standardization and interoperability of nutrition terminologies and relationships between nutrition and other biomedical disciplines such as disease and phenomics. Additionally, we will highlight challenges currently faced by the nutri-informatics community including experimental design, data aggregation and the roles scientific journals and primary nutrition researchers play in facilitating data reuse and successful computational research. Finally, we will conclude with a call to action to create and follow community standards regarding standardization of language, documentation specifications and requirements for data reuse. With the continued movement toward community standards of this kind, the entire nutrition research community can transition toward greater usage of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability principles and in turn more transparent science.

Alternative model organisms for toxicological fingerprinting of relevant parameters in food and nutrition

“…In any case, current improvements in nutri-informatics research are very promising and give rise to novel findings and methodologies that can presumably be utilized in future research studies. Present constraints in nutri-informatics will be overcome to gain a vast impact for precision medicine and personalized health (Chan et al 2021).…”

Food Informatics—Review of the Current State-of-the-Art, Revised Definition, and Classification into the Research Landscape

“…Vice versa, Smart Health apps might influence the consumption of food [26]. Additionally, somehow related to the this area are newer works that target the field of (personalized) nutrition, for example, smart food choices that support the choice for food of a consumer [27] as well as nutrition informatics, which "describes approaches to understand the interactions between an organism and its nutritional environment via bioinformatics-based integration of nutrition study data sets" [28].…”

Establishing a Common Nutritional Vocabulary - From Food Production to Diet

“…This information may affect selection of cultivars and conservation of genetic resources, the management of food supply, processing and distribution, and analysis of dietary consumption patterns segmented by various demographics (2). Although various conventions exist for naming individual chemicals and physical attributes of dietary components, comparison of data and feedback within food systems is often constrained by divergence in formal definitions and classifications (3). The exchange of knowledge and operational data between domains would benefit from a consistent framework that defines nutritional and phytochemical composition, as well as other attributes of food, including their dietary role and physiological function.…”