Early Life Nutrition Goes Digital

Digital tools are providing parents with new ways of tackling age-old parenting problems and arming researchers with data.

AsianScientist (Mar. 26, 2018) – Although eczema was virtually unheard of in Asia 30 years ago, 10-20 percent of the children born today will experience the skin condition at some point in their lives. Worryingly, eczema is just the start of what doctors call the atopic march, the steady progression from eczema to other allergy-related diseases such as rhinitis and asthma.

While the exact cause of eczema is not known, factors such as genetics and levels of pollution in the environment are known to be involved. In recent years, a growing body of evidence indicates that the microbiome also plays a part, influencing not only the development of eczema but also allergies and even metabolic conditions like obesity.

A 2017 study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, for example, showed that supplementation of a specific blend of probiotics and prebiotics could restore the gut microbiome in babies born by Caesarean section, thereby reducing their risk of developing eczema.

“It was very interesting to see that this modulation early in life and change in microbiota had such a profound impact on immune health,” said Dr. Katrien Van Laere, vice president of research & innovation for early life nutrition at Danone Nutricia Research, which conducted the study in partnership with scientists in Singapore and Thailand.

“These findings were discovered in a conventional clinical study, but I am sure that in this digital age, new technologies will help us discover other aspects of how nutrition can impact the health of infants and young children”.



Discovery through digitalization

Discoveries, whether in clinical or digital settings, rely on data. The strength of digital tools, such as the smart phones that many parents carry in their pockets, is that they make collecting data easier, providing a rich source of information that can augment what we learn from conventional clinical trials.

“Although I have been in research for over 20 years, I find it very exciting to now be in the fourth industrial revolution,” Dr. Van Laere said. “I am passionate about combining what we know in the life sciences with the possibilities that digitalization brings.”

Danone Nutricia Research’s Precision Nutrition D-Lab, which was officially opened on 14 March 2018 in Singapore, is equipped with digital-enabled data collection tools and data analytics to strengthen its position in pioneering research and innovation in early life nutrition. It will be developing real-life, self-service tools that capture and analyze parenting data and advise parents and healthcare professionals.

For example, the researchers at the Precision Nutrition D-Lab worked with partners to jointly develop a pocket-sized wearable device that records and analyzes a baby’s cries throughout the day, capturing detailed information such as the duration of each cry. Such comprehensive data collection would not be possible using traditional paper diaries where parents manually record the frequency of their baby’s cries.


Of microbes and machine learning

Apart from devices and data, one other way digitalization is likely to have an impact on health is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Dr. Van Laere said.

“On the one hand, new techniques and devices help us collect more data and with greater accuracy. On the other hand, once we have trained the artificial intelligence, we can make accurate predictions with only a few data points,” she explained.

Building on several years of collaborative projects with partners such as the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, researchers at the Precision Nutrition D-Lab are using machine learning to make sense of millions of data points already collected.

“Machine learning will help us find clear associations between certain microbial biomarkers and the likelihood of developing allergies later in life,” Dr. Van Laere said.



Opportunities in Asia

“The rapid speed of digitalization and the high penetration of mobile phones in Asia amplifies the benefits of digital health and make Asia an attractive place to launch new digital initiatives,” Dr. Van Laere continued.

Furthermore, conditions such as allergies are on the rise in Asia, underscoring the need for greater awareness of what parents can do about it.

“I truly believe that with more precision nutrition advice, Asia will be able to manage the health of its people better,” Dr. Van Laere said. “That’s what makes Danone Nutricia Research such a great organization to work for; knowing that you can impact the lives of children if you do the right thing.”




Asian Scientist Magazine is a media partner of Danone Nutricia Research.

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Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights R&D news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine is published by Singapore-headquartered Wildtype Media Group.

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