Nutrition is the study of food and its impact on the human body. The science involves examining the consumption, absorption, digestion, metabolism and elimination of nutrients. Since the 18th century when French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier linked health to nutrients, knowledge of nutrition has grown to include information about more than 45 nutrients. The discipline that studies the information and disseminates it to the public has a multifaceted history.
Nutrition and Public Welfare
The initial impetus for organizing the discipline of nutrition began during the depression when obtaining adequate food became a national issue. During the 1960s, the government established the food stamp program and a women and children nutrition-education program called The Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children, or WIC that saved an estimated $3.50 in medical costs per WIC dollar.
Dietetics Education
The history of American dietetics began in 1881 when the first dietitian, Sarah Tyson Rorer, opened Philadelphia Cooking School. In 1917, nutritionists organized and founded the American Dietetics Association. The ADA established education guidelines. Initially, they mandated a 2-year degree to practice dietetics and changed the guideline to a bachelor's degree in 1921. The national registry began identifying nutrition professionals in 1969.
Nutrition Education and War
Prior to World War I, food supplies in the United States were low and nutrition educators taught Americans cooking, growing and canning techniques to support the economy. In the 1940s when Americans failed World War II draft physical examinations, government concern about nutrition became pronounced and they began educating citizens about proper eating habits.
Nutrition in Medical Schools
Physician Hippocrates spoke in Greece about the importance of diet and hygiene in the 4th century B.C. The implementation of nutrition education in medical schools began in the 1950s when the American Medical Association's Council on Food and Nutrition acknowledged that doctors needed nutrition information to practice effectively. Medical schools either integrate nutrition information in primary courses or offer electives. The American Medical Student Association identifies 92 nutrition topics that medical schools use to design curriculum.
References
- University of Texas at Houston: Nutrition in Medical Education
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Nutrition; September 2009
- Archivos Latinoamericanos De Nutricion; Evolution and Trends of the Dietetics Profession in the United States of America and in Argentina: North and South United; Romina L. Barritta de Defranchi, Jennifer K. Nelson; April 15, 2009
- University of Minnesota Extension; Nutrition Education: A Strategy in Welfare Reform; Bonnie Braun; February 1997
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