The Journal of Nutrition
                                                                                                                                          BookReview
             History of Human                                                               thedevelopmentofthefirstdietaryallowances.Thesestandards
                                                                                            were adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
             Nutrition Research in                                                          United Nations in 1945 and by the World Health Organization
                                                                                            when it was established in 1948. She collaborated with several
             the U.S. Department of                                                         colleagues to “visualize”nutrition adequacy, including through
                                                                                            Buying Guides (1933), the Basic 7 Foundation diet (1943), and
             Agriculture, Agricultural                                                      the Basic 4 Foundation diet (1956).A third distinctive feature is
                                                                                            that manyofthechaptersarewrittenorinformedbythosewho
             Research Service:                                                              were involved in the development of human nutrition research
                                                                                            at the USDA. The 2 individuals who spearheaded the book
             People, Events and                                                             served in key leadership roles in the USDA. Dupont served                      Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/149/12/2267/5574655 by guest on 05 January 2023
             Accomplishments, edited                                                        as the National Program Leader for Human Nutrition at the
                                                                                            USDAs Agricultural Research Service (ARS) from 1991 until
             by JL Dupont and GR                                                            1996.Beecher served as a research chemist and research leader
                                                                                            at the USDA-ARS Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center.
             Beecher, 2017, 356 pages,                                                         There are several cross-cutting themes in the book. A key
                                                                                            theme is the continuity of research achievements and their
             hardcover                                                                      ultimate influences on policy and practice. The first RDA
                                                                                            provided recommendations for caloric intake and 9 nutrients.
                                                                                            The1941RDAreportprovidedtheonsetofguidelinesforhow
             HumannutritionresearchintheUSDAhasaproudhistorythat                            nutrient recommendations could be met, which was especially
             sometimes has been forgotten, given todays difficult political                importantduringthiswartimeperiod.Theseguidelinesevolved,
             environment, competition among government agencies, and                        informed by research, leading to a comprehensive process
             constrained budgets. This book sets the record straight by                     for determining the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.The
             providing a thorough description of the history of the                         visualization of nutrition adequacy by Stiebeling, again based
             USDAs human nutrition research program and highlighting its                   on research, led to the evolution of consumer-oriented Food
             seminal scientific and policy achievements. Highlights of these                Guides, including the Basic 7, Basic 4, Food Pyramid, and
             achievements are in the text box.                                              nowMyPlate.Othernoteworthynutrition policy achievements
                 Thebookisorganized into 3 parts:                                           included the Food Stamp Program in 1964; Women, Infants,
                1. “Foundations,” including WO Atwaters leadership and US policy           and Children in 1966; and the Expanded Food and Nutrition
                   development between 1894 and 1923;                                       Education Program in 1969.
                2. “Advances of Atwaters Initiatives,”including the development of the        Another theme is the intra- and inter-agency co-operative
                   Bureau of Home Economics (BHE); the history of research on food          efforts in nutrition research and policy. An example of
                   compositions, food consumption, and nutrition education; and co-         intra-agency co-operation by the experiment stations was
                   ordination of human nutrition research activities; and                   the establishment of the first table on the vitamin content
                3. “RegionalExpansion,”includingthedevelopmentoftheGrandForks               of US foods in 1929, where Louise Stanley, Chief of the
                   Human Nutrition Research Center (GFHNRC) in North Dakota;
                   establishment of the Childrens Nutrition Research Center at Baylor      BHE, personally contacted experiment station directors to
                   College of Medicine and Texas Childrens Hospital; history of            inquire about vitamin research. This work expanded the first
                   the Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts              comprehensive food composition table, developed by Atwater
                   University; acquisition of the Western Human Nutrition Research          and CD Woods and published in 1896. Other examples of
                   Center; and inception of the Arkansas Childrens Nutrition Research
                   Center.                                                                  intra-agency co-operation were the Nutrition Status of the
                                                                                            USA, which was published in 1959 and was known as a
                 Several distinctive features should be noted. First, there                 nutrition census of the nation, with all 50 experiment stations
             are historical markers (e.g., dates, noteworthy achievements,                  participating,and the successful transfer of the Western Human
             tables of organizational changes, a list of acronyms, and                      Nutrition Research Center, initially established in conjunction
             photos of leaders) throughout that are user-friendly guides                    with the US Army, from the Presidio of San Francisco to the
             to identifying and understanding the development of human                      University of California-Davis. Inter-agency co-operation was
             nutrition research at the USDA. Second, the book highlights                    noted more in recent years. In particular, the US Department
             the contributions of key USDA leaders, both deceased and                       of Health and Human Services became a key collaborating
             living,in humannutrition.Noteworthyaretheunderrecognized                       agency. Examples include the National Health and Nutrition
             contributions of individuals following Atwaters illness and                   Examination Survey studies,the dietary intake surveys, and the
             death. Achievements are described for Hazel Stiebeling, who                    joint development and dissemination of the Dietary Guidelines
             becametheHeadoftheDivisionofFoodandEconomicsinthe                              for Americans. Further, joint studies were conducted with the
             BHEin 1930 and subsequently was Chief until her retirement                     National Institutes of Health (e.g., National Cancer Institute
             in 1963. Stiebeling and her colleagues conducted a survey of                   collaboration on metabolic research of nutrients and food
             the eating habits of average Americans in 1931,as citizens were                components related to changes of markers for cancers).
             faced with inadequate diets due to poverty and disruptions of                     The book highlights the tensions, challenges, and opportu-
             the food supply during the Great Depression. The survey led to                 nities related to advocacy for nutrition research and resulting
                       
             Copyright C American Society for Nutrition 2019. All rights reserved. JNutr2019;149:2267–2269.                                                     2267
           policy and practices: a third cross-cutting theme. An early         USDA. The book highlights the work of Atwater and
           examplewasthecontroversysurroundingStiebelings efforts to          broadens our knowledge about those who contributed to
           establish standards for adequate diets. Agricultural economists     the foundational efforts in establishing government-sponsored
           calculated that, to follow these diets, there would be an           human nutrition research. In highlighting those efforts and
           increase in the demand for milk and for deep green and yellow       following the trajectory forward, the book demonstrates
           fruits and vegetables. The meat industry and wheat growers          that the groundwork by early leaders has flourished under
           were unhappy about these developments and attempted to              subsequent leaders. The book provides a detailed account
           prohibit the USDA from publishing any material that called for      of the research accomplishments that have addressed diet-
           the limited consumption of any food produced by American            related problems affecting US citizens over the years. From
           farmers, but their efforts were not successful. Other examples      undernutrition in the early years to overconsumption, obesity,
           of controversy, not only with the food industry but also among      and chronic diseases more recently, these diet-related problems
           nutrition and other health professionals themselves, were the       have and are being addressed by USDA nutrition researchers,
           development of Dietary Guidelines in 1980, the failed attempt       with resulting policies and practices developed for our citizens
           at an Eat Right Campaign in 1991,and the successful launch of       and often adopted by international organizations. Ultimately,
           the Food Guide Pyramid in 1992.                                     this book illustrates the contributions of many dedicated
              A fourth and final cross-cutting theme is related to the         professionals over the years and highlights the processes and       Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/149/12/2267/5574655 by guest on 05 January 2023
           efforts made by the USDA in trying to influence changes in US       outcomes of intra- and inter-agency co-operation that have
           dietary habits. Nutrition researchers, starting with Atwater and    moved nutrition research forward. This is clearly a landmark
           continuing with Stiebeling and many others, were aware of the       publication that can be used as a reference for a variety
           importantcontribution of new knowledge in understanding the         of professionals and as an instructional tool for educators.
           human need for adequate nourishment. The book outlines the          Copies of the book can be accessed electronically (https:
           many efforts to improve nutritional health through research         //www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/oc/np/HistoryofHumanNu
           and education within the societal context at that time. For         tritionResearch/HistoryofHumanNutritionResearch.pdf).
           example,the eating habits of Americans study at the beginning
           of the Depression led to efforts to develop nutrition materials
           to provide guidance for relief agencies during this period.
           The consumer purchases study of the mid-1930s indicated
           that a third of the nations families were “ill fed” which
           led to the enrichment of white flour and bread with iron
           and 3 B vitamins and the establishment of the National
           SchoolLunchProgram.Similarchallengeswerenotedwhenthe                    Identified 4 MajorThrustsinResearch.WOAtwaterout-
           United States entered World War II and Franklin D Roosevelt          lined4majorthrustsfortheoriginalresearchprogramofthe
           established the National Nutrition Conference for Defense in         USDA: food intake studies, food composition knowledge,
           recognition of the countrys undernourishment and resulting          nutrition education of the populace,and metabolic research.
           diseases, which were most notable in those rejected for military     These areas remain the architecture of the program today,
           service.                                                             including What We Eat in America, the National Nutrient
              In the 1970s, the link between nutrition and chronic disease      Database, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and metabolic
           was emphasized in nutrition research, which bolstered the            research at 6 centers in the United States.
           need for consumers to understand the importance of food                 Provided Guidance for Healthy Meals for a Variety of
           consumption in relation to their health. Regional expansion          EconomicConditions.Food preparation studies in the early
           enabled these efforts by focusing on children and older adults       to mid-20th century provided guidance on the assembly
           andtheneedtolinkadequatenutritiontolongevity,health,and              of healthful meals under a variety of economic conditions
           the prevention of disease. A clear example is the GFHNRC,            and geopolitical situations, and provided a link between
           established in the early 1970s, which became the prototype           consumer needs and agricultural production programs.
           for the subsequent founding of 5 additional USDA Human                  Set Standards for Nutrition Intakes. The expertise of
           Nutrition Centers. The GFHNRC produced key information               several USDAscientists and their research results formed the
           that was used in establishing DRIs, pioneered research on            basis of tentative standards of nutrient intakes to evaluate
           bioactive trace elements, and subsequently reframed its focus        the adequacy of civilian and military diets circa 1940.
           onthe prevention of obesity and related disorders.                   ThesestandardsbecameRDAs,firstreleasedin1941,which
              Morerecently, considering the current health of Americans,        evolved into current-day DRIs.
           the studies on sucrose and fructose are of major interest.              Established FoodConsumptionSurveys.FoodConsump-
           Although sucrose and fructose were initially thought of as only      tion Surveys by USDA scientists began with small studies
           affecting dental caries, over 10 years of studies in the 1970s       in the early 1900s, followed by nationwide surveys in the
           and numerous publications demonstrated that the substitution         mid-20th century, and were integrated with US Department
           of these sugars for complex carbohydrates resulted in adverse        of Health and Services National Health and Nutrition
           changes in risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. In a         Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2000 to form What We
           similar vein, in the 1990s, nutrition researchers demonstrated       Eat in America, NHANES.
           that trans fatty acids increased LDL cholesterol and decreased          Developed and Disseminated Food Composition Knowl-
           HDLcholesterol,leading to requirements in food labeling. The         edge. Food composition investigations and the tabulation
           bookoutlines these and other landmark studies that resulted in       of results was a WO Atwater trademark. Similar studies
           dietary recommendations reflected in the guidelines for practice     continued by USDA scientists as “new essential” nutrients
           that are still in effect today.                                      were discovered and food composition data were organized
              In conclusion, this book is a major contribution to the           in Handbooks, such as Number 8. Computing technology
           documented history of human nutrition research at the                transformed the organization and dissemination of infor-
           2268 BookReview
            mation to electronic databases, such as the USDA National      The author reported no funding received for this study.
            NutrientDatabaseforStandardReference,whichisupdated
            andreleasedyearly.                                             Author disclosures: PAR was a colleague of the first author, Jacqueline
               Developed and Disseminated Ongoing Nutrition Ed-            Dupont, at Iowa State University and knew her as an alumna of the
            ucation Information, including Dietary Guidelines. Early       College of Human Sciences at Florida State University, where PAR
            nutrition education activities of the USDA (1916–1950s)        subsequently served as dean.
            tooktheformofgovernmentpamphletsthatwerepublished
            periodically as new nutrients were discovered, food sources
            became readily available, and the economic state of the na-    I thank the nutrition research communityforprovidingthefield
            tion improved. In response to potential, diet-related chronic  with the history described in this book and the reviewers for
            diseases and overconsumption,Dietary Guidelines were first     their constructive comments. The sole author was responsible
            published in 1980 jointly by the USDA and the Department       for all aspects of this manuscript.
            of Health and Human Services. Subsequently a USDA/
            Health and Human Services Federal Dietary Guidelines           Penny A Ralston
            Committee reviews and recommends modifications of these
            Guidelines every 5 years.                                      Center on Better Health and Life for Underserved Populations,    Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/149/12/2267/5574655 by guest on 05 January 2023
               Helped to Launch the Home Economics Movement.               Florida State University,
            Administrators and scientists were involved in the founding    Tallahassee, FL, USA
            and support of the American Home Economics Association         E-mail: pralston@fsu.edu
            and“homeeconomicsmovement”intheearly20thcentury.
            For 4 decades, all human nutrition research activities at the
            USDAwereunderTheBureauofHomeEconomics.
               Set Standards for Metabolic Research. WO Atwaters
            calorimetry studies with human subjects set the standard
            for metabolic research at the USDA.Throughout the history
            of the research program, scientific efforts have been at the
            forefront of the relationship of dietary components and
            health. Results of their studies have contributed greatly
            to the establishment of essentiality and dietary standards,
            and their expertise has been called upon by national and
            international committees and workshops to elucidate the
            role of nutrients in diet-health relationships.                                                           doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz173.
                                                                                                                     BookReview 2269