Nestlé and NTU Singapore today announced a multi‑year joint research partnership to advance the scientific understanding of how nutrition supports healthy longevity and women’s health.
The collaboration brings together Nestlé’s global research capabilities and local expertise built through the Nestlé R&D center in Singapore, as well as NTU Singapore’s scientific expertise and world-class research infrastructure.
By combining their strengths, the partners will examine how nutrition, diet, and lifestyle choices influence the biological processes linked to aging. The researchers will also build on the growing scientific evidence that targeted nutrition may help slow the pace of biological aging. Research findings will be used to identify services and solutions to improve health concerns linked to aging such as metabolic health, mobility, and sleep, as well as the needs associated with menopause. To support this work, NTU and Nestlé plan to establish a joint research lab in Singapore with shared facilities for data analysis and clinical studies.
Ryan Carvalho, Head of Nestlé Research, said: “As people age, their nutritional needs change, and we know that nutrition plays a fundamental role in helping people maintain their long-term health. Through this partnership with NTU, we will be able to strengthen the growing body of scientific evidence on how nutrition can contribute to healthy longevity, particularly through midlife and beyond, including the menopausal transition. These insights will guide the development of science-backed, consumer-centric nutritional food and beverages.”
Spearheading NTU’s efforts in this collaboration with Nestlé R&D are researchers from the University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine). Together, the partners will leverage data collected from the Health for Life in Singapore (HELIOS) Study, a cutting-edge national population cohort led by LKCMedicine in partnership with NHG Health in Singapore and Imperial College London.
Over the past decade, the HELIOS study has collected comprehensive environmental, lifestyle and health data from about 50,000 adults living in Singapore. Further analysis of anonymized data from this unique resource offers the opportunity to deepen understanding of how lifestyle, diet and biology shape health outcomes, and to inform potential nutritional solutions that support health and well-being.
Professor Christian Wolfrum, Deputy President and Provost, NTU Singapore, said, “This latest initiative with Nestlé highlights NTU’s commitment to translating cutting-edge science into meaningful health outcomes through academia and industry partnership. By leveraging the deidentified data from the HELIOS study and our strengths in interdisciplinary research, together with Nestlé’s capabilities in nutrition science, we aim to deepen understanding of how nutrition and lifestyle shape healthy longevity and women’s health, and translate these insights into impactful, evidence-based solutions for Singapore, Asia and beyond.”
The joint research program is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), underscoring its importance for the regional population and Singapore’s innovation ecosystem.
“The joint research lab between Nestlé and NTU will strengthen industry–academia collaboration to develop science-based nutritional solutions that address the needs of ageing populations and support healthier, longer lives. This partnership reflects Singapore’s research and innovation capabilities whilst providing good opportunities for Singaporeans to be involved in shaping healthy ageing initiatives,” said Ms Melissa Guan, Vice President and Head of Consumer, EDB.
This partnership comes at a crucial time. By 2030, around 1.4 billion people will be over the age of 60, with aging especially rapid across Asia. While people are living longer than ever before, many are not spending those extra years in good health. This creates a health span gap, during which people may experience a lower quality of life and a decline in both cognitive and physical independence. At the same time, growing evidence shows that nutrition influences the biological pathways linked to aging and can help people maintain good health for longer. Strengthening the scientific understanding of these mechanisms will enable the development of solutions that can help to narrow the health span gap and support healthy longevity.