Improving nutrition in Mexico: the use of research for decision making.

This article addresses "research with a mission in nutrition"and begins by defining it as the development of an investigative effort aimed at improving the nutritional conditions of the population through application of the scientific method. A brief description is presented of the application of this principle for developing a research agenda to address malnutrition in Mexico. This framework uses scientific evidence as the basis for decision-making in public nutrition. Factors analyzed include the conditions of nutrition and health in the population and the organized social response (policies, programs, and actions) for preventing and controlling those conditions. The results yield a framework that has proved to be useful for the definition of "research with a mission."