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31 st
ESPEN
Congress
ABOUT ESPEN
ESPEN, The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, is a multiprofessional society
dedicated to all issues relevant to the field of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism and promotes:
– Basic and clinical research
– Basic and advanced education
– Organization of consensus statements about clinical care and care quality control
– Networking for nutrition-related professionals
The aims of ESPEN are to encourage the rapid diffusion of knowledge and its application in the field
of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism.
ESPEN sponsors two journals, Clinical Nutrition and e-SPEN Journal, for which it assumes editorial, as
distinct from publishing, responsibility.
ESPEN promotes experimental and clinical research, fosters high ethical standards of practice and
investigation, and promotes contact between investigators and clinicians in related fields.
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HISTORY
ESPEN was formally established in 1980, but its foundations were laid in an informal International
meeting in Stockholm in 1979, which has commonly come to be regarded as the first ESPEN meeting.
Here, it was decided to set up a multidisciplinary Society devoted to the study of metabolic problems
associated with acute diseases together with their nutritional implications and management and, to
publish a journal on Clinical Nutrition.
It was not the first Society associated to clinical nutrition. ISPN, the International Society of Parenteral
Nutrition, had been founded in 1966 to discuss the scientific work arising from the rapid development
in Europe of parenteral nutrition in the late 50s and early 60s. ISPN, which counted both European
and American members, held its meetings during the ICN Congresses in various parts of the world.
The spreading interest in parenteral nutrition in the US in the 60s eventually led to the establishment
of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) in 1977.
ISPN had to redefine its role to better target the needs of those involved in clinical nutrition in Europe
and it was decided that there was a need for a scientifically-orientated organisation providing a
common ground for European scientists from many disciplines involved in nutritional support. A first
informal meeting was therefore held in Stockholm in 1979 and invitations were sent to key individuals
in the various European countries with an interest in clinical nutrition. Financial support was granted by
a number of European industrial firms.
The following year a meeting of 800 participants was held in Newcastle where ESPEN was officially
founded and its constitution agreed: the Society’s officers would be composed of a President, a
Secretary, a Treasurer and two Auditors; there would also be a Council, consisting of one key member
from each participating country who would elect members to the Executive Committee.
The success of the following meetings in terms of number of participants (Maastricht (1981) with
1300 participants, Vienna (1982) with 1800 participants) and industrial exhibitions showed that
ESPEN was stimulating considerable interest both in the scientific and industrial world. Its growing
responsibilities led to the establishment of a Scientific Committee that was to assist in giving scientific
direction to the meetings and lay down guidelines to maintain high standards for abstract selection,
evaluate and select abstracts and appoint reviewers for each topic and; an Educational Committee,
whose task was to coordinate the educational aspects of the Society, and an Industry Liaison Group to
develop links between ESPEN and the industry.
The Society’s rapid expansion in the following years called for further adjustments in terms of ESPEN’s
organisation and policy. A President in charge of organising the following Congress would serve on the
Executive Committee for one year, while a Committee Chairman would serve for four years to ensure
continuity to ESPEN’s policy. Research was promoted by offering a gradually increasing number of
travel fellowships and ESPEN Research Fellowships. The first postgraduate course, run by the
Educational Committee, was established in Brussels in 1984. Steps were taken to widen the
participation of the members in running the affairs of the Society, and smaller additional meetings were
held in Budapest and Tel Aviv to facilitate the spread of knowledge and provide scientific interchange
in wider geographical areas. The first website was created in 1999 to further disseminate ESPEN’s
activities (www.espen.org). In time, the Scientific and Educational Committees were enlarged to
include representatives of all disciplines.