National Nutrition Week (NNW), established in 2015, has flourished into the largest nutrition and health event within the scope of national health days in China over the past decade, under the diligent planning and social mobilization efforts of the Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS). 

With the support and guidance of the National Health Commission, NNW has not only propelled the vigorous development of China’s nutrition and health sector, but also profoundly transformed the lifestyles and dietary habits of Chinese residents.

Exploration and Establishment: From Professionals' Initiatives to Government Action

In 2014, the State Council issued the China’s Food and Nutrition Development Outline (2014-2020), which explicitly proposed in its fourth section, Enhance public nutrition awareness, promote healthy lifestyles, establish scientific dietary concepts, research the establishment of a public nutrition day, and conduct food nutrition knowledge outreach activities in rural and urban areas to strengthen nutrition and health education.

As the sole national-level professional academic organization in the field of nutrition science, CNS has been committed to improving the nutritional quality and health levels of the nation since its inception in 1945.

In response to national strtegies and to solidify the spirit of the document, CNS organized experts to conduct in-depth research and plan the creation of a national nutrition science popularization week. After multiple discussions and consultations across various departments, in June 2014, CNS officially decided to designate the third week of May each year as National Nutrition Week (NNW).

CNS, in collaboration with the Nutrition and Health Institute of the Chinese CDC, the Food and Nutrition Development Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, served as the initiating and organizing bodies, working jointly with provincial and municipal nutrition societies to implement the initiative.

In 2015, the inaugural National Nutrition Week was officially launched in Beijing on May 16. CNS made thorough preparations, designing a theme logo, slogan, as well as popular science articles, animations, and more. Over 70,000 professionals and 102 media outlets participated, reaching an audience of over ten million, marking a resounding success in its debut.

In 2016, celebrities from the film and television industry were invited as ambassadors for National Nutrition Week. Over 2,100 units, including nutrition societies, disease control centers, schools, hospitals, and enterprises, organized activities in schools, hospitals, and communities, involving more than 5,000 communities and reported by 302 mainstream media outlets.

In 2017, over 100,000 experts, scholars, and nutritionists from 30 provinces and over 600 cities and regions participated in the National Nutrition Week activities. For the first time, a core knowledge dissemination toolkit was created and made available for free download, with 51,650 downloads recorded.

In 2018, the National Nutrition Song and accompanying health exercises were created and promoted at the launch ceremony, along with the release of 15 Weight Management Technique toolkits. A total of 25,091 on-site events were held nationwide, involving 5,741 collaborative units across 31 provinces and over 600 cities, with 1,696 media reports and 93,657 downloads of the core knowledge dissemination toolkit.

The popularity of the National Nutrition Week continued to rise.

Development and Growth: From Monolithic Forms to Diverse Presentations

National Nutrition Week is a health campaign designed to promote nutrition and health concepts and enhance people’s nutritional health status through concentrated nutrition education and knowledge dissemination. Through core objectives, organizational methods, and specific implementation paths, NNW has been cultivated into a nationwide, organized, and planned nutrition education system project.

Core Objectives: By educating the public on the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, nutrition science knowledge, healthy lifestyle interventions, and public policy promotion, NNW aims to popularize nutritional health knowledge and facilitate healthy transformations in diet and lifestyle behaviors.

Organizational Approach: To achieve the core objectives, CNS designs a series of organized, themed, large-scale, and educational initiatives for nutrition and technology workers all over the country. The NNW Office of the Chinese Nutrition Society annually devises a clear set of arrangements for nutritional health dissemination and promotion, including promotion theme, logo and slogan, core knowledge toolkit, ambassadors, dissemination plan and pathways, etc.

Led by the government, CNS and provincial nutrition societies spearhead the effort, mobilizing universities, hospitals, disease control systems, and communities to participate in the event deeply.

Specific Directions: NNW aims to disseminate core nutritional health knowledge and practices through a science-led, society-wide, multi-channel, and concentrated effort, enabling the public to understand food, enhance health literacy, establish new nutritional lifestyles, and pass on nutritional awareness and healthy behaviors across generations.

·Enhancing public nutritional literacy: Assisting the public in understanding the basics of dietary guidelines, food labels, and nutritional health care.

·Correcting nutritional misconceptions: Disseminating knowledge on urgent or hot health issues to eliminate misunderstandings or unscientific information circulation.

·Promoting policy implementation: Supporting the implementation of relevant nutrition policies and standards, such as the Healthy China 2030 Plan and the National Nutrition Plan.

Development and Growth: Since its inception in 2015, CNS and its branches, provincial, municipal, and county-level nutrition societies, and dietitian associations have actively undertaken organizational and mobilization efforts, calling on scholars and nutritionists in the medical field, disease control systems, and colleges and universities to participate in thematic popular science education and outreach activities in lively ways.

The coverage of National Nutrition Week has continuously expanded, reaching from provinces, cities, and counties to rural and remote areas, playing a central role in the coverage of nutritional health knowledge. Activity formats have ranged from online live broadcasts and open classes to offline free clinics and promotional events in schools, communities and factories, meeting the nutritional knowledge and skill needs of diverse populations and making significant strides in serving the public’s health.

Themes of The 10 Years: Aligning with the Times, Leading Health Trends

Reviewing the decade-long journey of National Nutrition Week, each year’s theme has closely aligned with the times, reflecting society’s concerns and needs regarding nutrition and health at that moment, and promoting the formation of more scientific, reasonable, and healthy dietary trends among the public.

In 2015, the inaugural National Nutrition Week, with the theme of Daily Good Nutrition, Lifelong Health Enjoyment, emphasized the importance of nutrition for health, advocated for a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, and laid a solid foundation for the growth of NNW. 

In 2016, with the theme of Balanced Diet, Nutritional Health, NNW promoted the importance of dietary balance and reasonable nutrition in conjunction with the newly released Chinese Dietary Guidelines (2016), further deepening the public’s understanding of nutritional health.

In 2017, the theme of NNW was Whole Grains, Nutrition Plus which advocated for food diversity and emphasized the nutritional value of whole grains, providing the public with richer dietary choices.

The NNW 2018, with the theme of Eating Smart, Moving More, Healthy Weight, promoted the importance of eating and moving in balance for maintaining a healthy weight, guiding the public to focus on weight management.

In 2019, with the theme of Balanced Diet, Daily Fruits and Vegetables, Health for You and Me, popularized the core recommendations of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines (2016), emphasizing the importance of fruits and vegetables in daily diets and encouraging the public to increase their intake.

In 2020, the theme Balanced Diet, Immune Foundation promoted the important role of a balanced diet in enhancing immunity, focusing on promoting high-quality protein sources such as dairy and soybeans, providing the public with dietary advice for boosting immunity.

In 2021, the theme of NNW was Balanced Diet, Nutrition Benefits Every Family which advocated for balanced diets to benefit every household, promoting the enhancement of family nutritional health awareness.

In 2022, with the theme of Skilled Cooking, Wise Selection, Reading Labels, the NNW emphasized the importance of learning to cook, select, and read food labels in line with the newly released Chinese Dietary Guidelines (2022), enhancing the public’s nutritional literacy and food safety awareness.

In 2023, the theme of NNW was Balanced Diet, Food as Medicine and advocated for preventing and treating diseases through scientific diets, contributing to the prevention and reduction of the high incidence of chronic diseases in China. 

In 2024, the theme Dairy and Beans Add Nutrition, Less Oil for Better Health, fitted the Chinese population’s need to improve their nutritional diets, focusing on promoting the intake of dairy and soybeans while reducing cooking oil consumption, providing the public with a healthier and more scientific dietary plan.

In 2025, the theme Eating and Moving in Balance, Healthy Weight, National Action echoed the national call for a Weight Management Year, conveying the concepts of dietary diversity and eating-moving balance, and advocating for the public to achieve healthy weight management goals through balanced diets and scientific exercise.

During the past decade, the themes of National Nutrition Week have not only disseminated the core information of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, but also provided specific dietary recommendations tailored to the nutritional needs of different populations, offering the public authoritative and practical nutritional guidance. These activities have disseminated the core nutritional knowledge of NNW in a three-dimensional and accessible manner across the country, enabling the public to easily understand and willingly accept it, thereby practicing healthy diets and lifestyles in their daily lives.