Food and Nutrition

A comprehensive introduction to human nutrition, setting it in the context of food systems and health across the lifespan. This leading text has been totally rewritten for this fourth edition to reflect the new imperatives of food security in the context of climate change.

Food—how we produce, prepare, share and consume it—is fundamental to our wellbeing. It also connects the human body to the complex and dynamic systems of our environment. This is more significant than ever before in human history, as climate change and increasing population impact on global ecosystems.

This fourth edition of Food and Nutrition has been completely rewritten to reflect an ecosystems approach to human health. It is shaped around four dimensions of human nutrition: biology, society, environment and economy.

Food and Nutrition provides a comprehensive overview of food components and the biochemistry of foods and digestion. It outlines nutrition needs at different life stages, dietary disorders, and social and cultural influences on food selection and consumption. It also explores the increasing influence of technology on agriculture and food preparation, and recent research into intergenerational nutrition and nutrigenomics. At every stage it points to how you can impact your own health and the health of others as a global citizen and as a health or other food-system-related professional.

Extensively illustrated with informative graphs, diagrams and data, and with examples, glossaries and reflective exercises, Food and Nutrition is the ideal introduction to the field of nutrition and dietetics for the 21st century, and a valuable professional reference for early career dietitians.

About the Editors

Mark Wahlqvist held the first Australian Chair of Human Nutrition, at Deakin University, and was Professor and Head of Medicine at Monash University and the Monash Medical Centre. He has held senior appointments at universities, medical centres and research institutes in Australia, Sweden, Indonesia, Taiwan and mainland China, and was president of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences and editor-­in­-chief of the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Danielle Gallegos is Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at Queensland University of Technology and a Fellow of the Dietitians Association of Australia.