CRC NUTR PUBL HLTH PDF

Preface

Immediately after deciding to embark on writing this book, I did exactly what any other public health nutritionist in the Internet age would do — a Google search to determine the availability of other books, and also journals, dedicated to nutrition in public health. I identified six books with "community nutrition" in the title but only two books and a single journal devoted exclusively to public health nutrition. I found myself asking why I should not be reticent to add yet another book to what already seemed like a crowded field. Is nutrition and public health sufficiently mature for three new books in that many years? I believe the answer to that question is a resounding, unequivocal "Yes!." Three books and a journal dedicated to a topic that unarguably holds the key to the primary and secondary prevention of some of the major causes of premature death in the United States must still be considered woefully inadequate.

The purpose of Nutrition in Public Health: Principles, Policies, and Practice is to provide public health professionals with an overview of the field, with a focus on the federal government's role in determining nutrition policy and practice. The book was written with the conviction that an understanding of government and a familiarity with the demographic profile of the United States population are necessary in order to appreciate nutrition in public health today.

The principles of public health nutrition are presented in the first half of the book. These eight chapters examine the population of the United States, nutritional epidemiology, food and nutrition surveys for monitoring the public's health, programs to reduce disparities in the prevalence of dietrelated chronic disease, weight control challenges and solutions, and an examination of special populations — breastfeeding mothers, people with HIV and AIDS, and prison inmates.

The nutrition policy of the United States is addressed in the two chapters that deal with food and nutrition politics and dietary advice.

The last third of the book deals with practicing public health nutrition. These five chapters present the tools for conducting a food and nutrition assessment of a community, designing and carrying out a social marketing campaign, and writing a grant proposal. Programs to promote food security and to ensure the safety of the food supply are also discussed.