Nutrition scientists

A current definition of nutrition science used in teaching in the UK is: ‘The study of the ways in which the interaction between the intake of food, providing energy and nutrients, and the metabolic demands of the body that are required to establish and maintain function. This interaction takes place against a wide range of environmental factors’.

The appellation scientist is considered a title of honour, hotly contended for by economists, engineers, physicians, psychologists, and others. The word itself is widely believed to have been classical for centuries; yet it is actually of recent origin and had a hard fight to establish itself against a number of competitors.

Nutrition scientists are the people with graduate degrees (usually chemistry, biology, biochemistry or physics) engaged in research dealing primarily with the effects of food in animals and human beings.

As the field of nutrition advanced, nutrition scientists could isolate and identify nutrients needed for human survival and growth. Beginning in the 1970s, scientists went so far as to recommend daily amounts of nutrients in order to support human health. These came in the form of recommended daily allowances (RDAs) and reference nutrition intakes (RNIs), dietary guidelines, and food guides.
Nutrition scientists