The theme selected for the 38th NSM Annual Scientific Conference is "From sick care to wellness - Healthy nutrition is key". This overarching theme emphasises the key role of healthy nutrition in ensuring wellness at different stages of life cycle as well as for prevention of diseases. The ultimate goal of the healthcare is to improve health and strive to stay at good health for as long as possible.

However, the reality is that many of the public are in the sick-care cycle and wait until one is sick before steps are taken to look for treatment to improve or control the diseases. Caring for the sick comes at a high cost to the country’s health care system; as chronic diseases are on the rise, it added strain to accommodate the burden of illness on individuals and society as a whole. Sick care also negatively impacts financial burden and quality of life of those families coping long-term, chronic illnesses.

Concerted efforts and measures need to be taken to shift the 'sick care' mindset of the population, to promote wellness, healthy habits, and preventive lifestyles in people. In this regard, healthy nutrition is key as it is the cornerstone for wellness at every stage of life and that nutritionists play a key role in delivering sound advices and messages on nutrition to the population. Sharing facts, new data, and useful insights from nutrition experiences, interventions, programmes, and researches among the nutritionists is urgently needed. These can be used to support us in putting into place successful preventive nutrition programmes, initiatives, and policies to encourage better nutrition and health outcomes.