Nutrition and Policy

In January 1998, scientists and government officials gathered in Washington, D.C., to decide how much was too much of a good thing. This group, part of the National Academy of Sciences' Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), discussed setting upper limits on daily consumption of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements—part of a broader process to determine what Americans need in their diets to stay healthy.

But what Americans need to eat depends on each person's definition of “healthy.” As recently as 20 or 30 years ago, nutritional standards still focused on preventing diseases that resulted from nutritional deficiencies. Today, the emphasis has shifted to reducing the risk for chronic degenerative diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. In fact, although the role of nutrition in personal and public health is an old concept, new research, new attitudes, heightened consumer concern, and the commercial marketplace have created a changed nutritional landscape for which physicians must prepare.

During the next several months, Currents will look at this new intersection of nutrition and medicine, principally as it is expressed through the development and dissemination of nutritional standards and guidelines. In this issue, we examine the ways in which nutrition science is expressed as nutrition standards through government policies. In future issues, we will investigate the roles of disease-oriented volunteer groups, the food industry, and consumers and their needs, interests, and fears. Finally, we will take a look at the place of nutrition in the training and practice of U.S. physicians.