Nutrition and Dietetics Topic Homepage
Nutrition and Dietetics Overview
Nutrition is the process of consuming, absorbing, and using nutrients needed by the body for growth, development, and maintenance of life.1 Nutrition is also the multi-disciplinary science that studies metabolic processes (digestion) and eating behaviours (environmental factors and individual characteristics).
Human foods consumed in the daily diet contain as many as 100,000 substances, but only 300 are classified as...
... nutrients.1 Some of these are essential nutrients because the body can not synthesise them, meaning they must be consumed in the diet (most vitamins and all minerals).1
Generally, nutrients are divided into two categories: macronutrients and micronutrients.1 Macronutrients are required daily in large quantities in order to enable people to perform their daily physical and mental activities.1 They include carbohydrates, proteins, fats and some minerals.1 Micronutrients are required daily in small quantities (milligrams to micrograms), and include vitamins and trace minerals that enable the body to use macronutrients.1
Dietetics is the study of all the rules that govern human food, and is defined as "the application of the science of nutrition to the human being in health and disease".2 Diet is thus a "social norm" that varies over time, civilizations, religions or beliefs and depending on the level of nutritional knowledge.
Maintaining an appropriate weight is important for physical and psychological health1.It is now recognized that nutritional imbalances are a major source of cardiovascular diseases3, and may be the origin of certain cancers4. Numerous diseases are caused or made worse by obesity.5 These include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, and stroke.5 Educating the general public about the importance of diet and nutrition is also a public health issue.
1. Beers M.H. et al. The Merck manual of medical information. Merck research laboratories. Second home edition. 2003, : 16-21880-887.
2. Judd P.A. Dietetics. EncyclopediaEncyclopaedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2003, : 1886-1891.
3. Ritchie S.A. et al. The link between abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. May 2007 ; 17 (4) : 319-326.
4. Key T.J. et al. The effect of diet on risk of cancer. The Lancet. September 2002 ; 360 (9336) : 861-868.
5. O'Brien P.E. et al. The extent of the problem of obesity. The American Journal of Surgery. December 2002 ; 184 ( 6-2) : S4-S8.
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Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that currently affects approximately 285 million people worldwide and this figure is only expected to increase1. For Europe, the IDF estimates that 55.2 million, or 8.5% of the population aged 20 to 79 years, have diabetes. This is expected to rise to 66.2 million (10.0%) by 2030. Further information on the scale of the type 2 diabetes problem can be found in the overview section of the knowledge centre.
Complications associated with diabetes mellitus include hypertension, cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, kidney damage, foot ulceration and nerve damage. Discover more about the complications connected to diabetes mellitus, as well as acceptable blood glucose and HbA1C levels and how these differ in people with diabetes mellitus here.
The majority of patients with type 2 diabetes are obese and/or have an increased proportion of visceral fat, factors which in themselves are associated with insulin resistance. Other risk factors include increasing age and sedentary lifestyle. There is also a strong genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes2.
Chronic hyperglycaemia of diabetes is associated with long-term damage, dysfunction and failure of various organ systems. Early diagnosis, adequate treatment to control hyperglycaemia, and management of associated risk factors and complications therefore are all essential to reduce the burden of diabetes. Effective screening strategies are therefore of particular importance in reducing this burden. Discover the diagnostic tests necessary to diagnose type 2 diabetes mellitus and intermediate hyperglycaemia or pre-diabetes.
The early and aggressive treatment and management of diabetes mellitus is important for a successful long term outcome in patients with diabetes mellitus. The use of oral agents and lifestyle changes are the generally accepted early treatments followed later by insulin therapy. Current treatment algorithms and IDF guidelines should be used to find the appropriate treatment regime for individual patients.
As with many diseases, our knowledge of diabetes mellitus is increasing through research. Recent developments include the use of new treatments and guidelines in clinical practice. There has been an update to the IDF guidelines concerning GLP-1 agonists. DPP-4 inhibitors are now used in the treatment of diabetes, and SGLT-2 inhibitors are being investigated for this use.
References
1. Unwin, N. et al. The IDF Diabetes Atlas: Providing Evidence, Raising Awareness and Promoting Action. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 87, 2-3 (2010).
2. Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care 33 Suppl 1, S62-9 (2010).
Drug News
Trial shows Vascazen (Pivotal Therapeutics) effective in altering cholesterol levels in patients with CV Risk
10-05-2013A trial has demonstrated that Vascazen (omega-3 oil), from Pivotal Therapeutics, is highly effective in correcting an omega-3 deficiency. The company suggests this could have benefits for people at risk of developing CardioVascular Disease. In eight weeks of treatment a statistically significant (p<0.0001) increase of 121% in the Omega-Score and 112% (p<0.0001) in Omega-Index (the blood levels...
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Nutrition and Dietetics Drug Data - A-Z
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Recent Drug Updates
XERISTAR
08-05-2013Treatment of major depressive episodes. Treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain in adults. ...
Tapclob Oral Suspension
09-04-2013Clobazam is a 1,5-benzodiazepine indicated for the short-term relief (2-4 weeks) only of anxiety that is severe, disabling or subjecting the individual to unacceptable distress, occurring alone or...
Beacita 120mg Capsules, hard
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Clinical Guidelines
Ketogenic diet in the management of epilepsy
Feb 2012The ketogenic diet (KD) is a therapeutic diet, which has been shown to improve seizure control in..
... patients with drug resistant epilepsy.
The KD is also used to treat the metabolic conditions: GLUT1 (glucose transport protein deficiency) and PDH (pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency).
Food allergy in children and young people: Diagnosis and assessment of food allergy in children and young people in primary care and community settings
Feb 2011This guideline offers best practice advice on the care of children and young people with suspected..
... food allergies.
Clinical Trials
Short-term Investigation of Resveratrol on Fat Metabolism in Morbidly Obese Women Undergoing Gastric Bypass Surgery
03-04-2013The purpose of this study is to investigate potential metabolic effects of resveratrol in morbidly obese women undergoing gastric bypass surgery.
Gastric Electrical Stimulation (GES) for the Treatment of Obesity
26-03-2013The purpose of this feasibility study is to provide safety data on the implantable Exilis gastric electrical stimulation (GES) system, to individually adjust stimulation parameters to levels that are comfortable for implanted subjects during chronic daily treatment, and to collect data on acute gastrointestinal..
... function and food intake responses to GES during in-clinic testing.
Medical Videos
Medical Journal Abstracts
Impaired glucose metabolism is a risk factor for increased thyroid volume and nodule prevalence in a mild-to-moderate iodine deficient area
Metabolism
Feb 2013
Objective: Insulin resistance (IR) is a key factor involved in the pathogenesis of impaired glucose metabolism. IR is associated with increased thyroid volume and nodule prevalence in patients with metabolic syndrome. Data on the association of thyroid morphology and abnormal glucose metabolism are limited. This..
Maternal low-protein diet alters the expression of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction reference genes in an age-, sex-, and organ-dependent manner in rat offspring
Nutrition Research
Feb 2013
Altered perinatal environment, often manifested as low birth weight, is thought to contribute to greater susceptibility for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes as a result of epigenetic modifications and alteration of transcriptional activity for key genes. Real-time polymerase chain reaction is a useful..
Medical Apps
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Journal of paediatric gastroenterology and nutrition - Free
Nutrition Guide for Physicians - £57.80
Social Media
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