Federal Human Nutrition Research

With the disappearance of major nutritional deficiency diseases in the United States, nutrition research has turned to more elusive pursuits, such as the effects of diet on human intellect and life span. As a consequence, human nutrition research has become complex and multidisciplinary, involving dietetics, biochemistry, physiology, medicine, microbiology, genetics, endocrinology, food technology, and agricultural science. The Government spends about $80 million per year on human nutrition research. None of the Federal organizations involved in nutrition research provides comprehensive nutrition information, and comprehensive information for determining the direction and focus of Federal human nutrition research is lacking at this time. The four broad areas of research needs which are important for sound nutrition planning are human nutritional requirements; food composition and nutrient availability; diet, disease causation, and food safety; and food consumption and nutritional status. The principal Federal agencies supporting human nutrition research are the Agricultural Research Service and the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the Health Resources Administration conducts the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a major research project designed to measure and monitor the nutritional status of the American people over time.