Public health and infectious disease experts, epidemiologists, and clinical nutritionists review major health problems of developing countries and detail the role that poor nutrition plays in their etiology. They examine the epidemiology, prevention, and control of medical problems including low birth weight, infant mortality, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and respiratory disease. Specific nutritional problems are also addressed in chapters on vitamin deficiencies, anemia, and multiple micronutrient malnutrition. There is also material on creating policies to solve nutrition and health problems of developing countries. Semba teaches in the Division of Ocular Immunology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Bloem is affiliated with Helen Keller International. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Reviewer: Noel Chavez, PhD, RD, LDN (University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health)
Description: This is the second edition of a comprehensive account of the issues of nutrition and health in the developing world; the first edition was published in 2001. A broad array of topics usually included in books such as this is covered, spanning the life cycle, nutrient deficiencies, infectious diseases, and nutrition. In addition, it covers topics such as urbanization and food security, humanitarian emergencies, and economics of nutrition interventions, which represents a significant expansion of topics since the first edition.
Purpose: The editors state that the objective of the book is to provide current information about the major health and nutrition problems in developing countries for diverse audiences including "policymakers, nutritionists, students, scientists and professionals." They aim to help readers in synthesizing the information to "facilitate an integrated approach to health research, programs and policy." This seems a reasonable and needed goal, which the book meets. As noted by the series editor, this book ably meets the multifaceted series' mission, adding "identification of paradigm shifts" and "balanced, data driven answers...based on the totality of evidence" to the objectives of the book editors.
Audience: The individual chapter reviews address the needs of the intended audiences and others who are seeking a detailed review of a particular issue in nutrition and health within the context of the developing world. One area not included this edition but available in the previous one is material appropriate for field workers who may not have the professional background needed for this edition.
Features: After an introductory chapter that provides a historical perspective on nutrition and development, some maternal and child nutrition and health problems are presented (nutrition for older adults is covered later in the book), leading to a section that covers nutrition and various infectious diseases. Chapters cover several nutrient deficiencies commonly encountered in developing countries as well as emerging problems such as the nutrition transition, obesity, and urbanization. Three chapters address various aspects of humanitarian emergencies and nutrition and others explore food policy, the role of data in programs, and ethics. The tables and figures are generally helpful in supporting the text, and some of the line drawings from the earlier edition have been included.
Assessment: This is a useful book for many working across disciplines that bridge nutrition and health within the context of developing countries. The individual chapter reviews are comprehensive and the breadth of topics covered makes this a helpful overview of the multiple and important nutrition issues found in the developing world. The addition of chapters that address application of the information and emerging global nutrition issues will help program developers and policy makers.
From the reviews of the second edition:
“Like the first edition, the second edition of Nutrition and Health in Developing Countries- a tome to which no less than 45 leading minds in a diverse range of disciplines have contributed - is set to define a new level of understanding in this important area of policy, research and programming. Intended for policy makers, nutritionists, students, scientists and professionals, the book provides the most recent and up-to-date knowledge regarding major health and nutritional problems in developing countries, presented to facilitate an integrated approach to health research, programs, and policy. New chapters in the book's final section contain special topics relating to humanitarian emergencies, including a case study of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, food in humanitarian relief, food policy, the emerging role of supermarkets in developing countries, homestead food production, aging, ethics, and the adverse impact of parental tobacco use on child health in poor families. As readers of the previous edition know, what is characteristic of the volume is its underlying conviction that global health and nutrition problems can only be solved through a more integrated, multidisciplinary approach to better understand the various levels of causality and interactions between determinants. The book powers on with insightful contributions from academics and professionals steeped in the fields of clinical nutrition, medicine, immunology, infectious disease, epidemiology, public health nutrition, anthropology, health policy, economics, and disaster planning.” (Sight and Life)
“This second edition is updated and enlarged with 12 more chapters than the 2001 edition (32 total). Each chapter is a critical literature review considering current research, conclusions, and needed research. Conflicting results of studies are included. Chapters cover both specific diseases such as measles, malaria, andtuberculosis; and dietary deficiencies such as vitamin A or zinc. Contributors also address more problem-specific areas such as infant mortality, food policy, and ethics. The chapter on the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami provides a study in what is needed, and not needed, in response to disasters. Chapter authors are an international selection of people working in the field of nutrition and health. Chapter citation listings (several numbering over 200 citations) demonstrate the extent of coverage for each subject. Although each chapter can stand alone, those who read the whole volume will get a very comprehensive overview of nutrition-related health problems in developing countries. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners.” (N. Duran, Texas A&M University in CHOICE, January 2009)
"This is the second edition of a comprehensive account of the issues of nutrition and health in the developing world … . The tables and figures are generally helpful in supporting the text … . This is a useful book for many working across disciplines that bridge nutrition and health within the context of developing countries. … will help program developers and policy makers." (Noel Chavez, Doody’s Review Service, January, 2009)
"This is an excellent comprehensive and authoritative multidisciplinary treatment of a subject of overwhelming importance in today's developing countries...The purposeful overlap between these chapters on specific disease and health problems and subsequent chapters on nutritional deficiencies in the third section of the book is to be highly commended, because the epidemiology and consequences of nutrition and infection are inseparable; they interact synergistically in almost all circumstances...Great advances have been made in the understanding of micronutrient malnutrition in the last three decades, its multiple nature, and the interactions among nutrients. It is now evident thatmicronutrient deficiencies usually occur together and require an integrated and multidisciplinary approach. This book will help not only nutritionists but also other health specialists understand and take these issues into consideration when developing policies and interventions. This book will provide policymakers and nutrition and health professionals with the most recent and up to date knowledge regarding major health and nutrition problems in developing countries. Its editors and authors are all outstanding international authorities and the text is greatly expanded in this new edition." (Food and Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 30, no. 1 © 2009, The United Nations University)
