Dieting and Health

Report Outline
Relation of Food Elements to Disease
Obesity Problem and Reducing Diets
Fads and Frauds in Field of Nutrition

Relation of Food Elements to Disease

Diet-Conscious americans are caught in the middle of a medical dilemma—whether to go on consuming more fat than probably is good for them or whether to take risks to health that may be involved in not getting enough fat. Because new medical knowledge shows a connection between consumption of fats and certain forms of heart disease, the idea is gaining popular credence that reducing the fat content of the daily diet may make heart attacks less likely. But nutritionists are concerned lest medically unauthorized tinkering with basic eating habits lead to harmful physical deficiencies.

This is not the first time that scientific advances in the field of nutrition have threatened to encourage irrational dietary practices. Discovery of the role of vitamins in the diet resulted in widespread over-use of vitamin pills. Many food faddists cite respected authorities for theories they propound, without realizing that they are making improper application of valid findings. And public interest in diet, especially in reducing diets, has created a rich market for food quacks who fleece the gullible of millions of dollars every year.

Research on Role of Fats in Heart Disease

The high incidence of coronary heart disease in the United States, brought home to the public by President Eisenhower's heart attack in September 1955, stimulated medical research in this field. One of the questions given increased attention was whether diet contributed to the prevalence of heart trouble. Evidence piling up for years seemed to implicate the relatively high level of fat in the American diet.