Public health nutrition and food design: Bridging disciplines for food system transformation

As food systems grow increasingly complex, the intersection of public health nutrition and food design offers fertile ground for transformative innovation. Drawing on a narrative review of literature and several illustrative projects, this article examines the bidirectional relationship between these disciplines. This article situates the fields’ historical roots and recent convergences, outlines an approach to sources and case selection, and synthesizes institutional and methodological implications (speed, scope, scale). Ultimately, this reflection celebrates the evolution of food design as a field increasingly expanded by public health’s population-level perspectives. Such expansion has the potential to advance system-level transformations via sustained collaboration and exchanges to advance equity, sustainability and well‑being across food systems.