The first edition of the Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition established the title as one the major reference works in the subject. The revised second edition of this popular core text expands on the original, including a credible wealth of information in the field of human nutrition with a 20 per cent increase in new research. Every article from the first edition has been updated as needed, so much so that there is now a further volume, making it a four‐volume set, containing nearly 300 articles. Additional new material focuses on clinical nutrition and dietary management in particular. This new edition is comprehensive, but not over technical and is well supplied with up to date suggestions for further reading.
As the editors say, it is not possible to cover every aspect of nutrition in minute detail, but the breadth of coverage is very impressive, bringing together virtually every topic that is part of the subject. As well as the basic aspects of nutrient metabolism, it includes psychological aspects of nutrients and energy requirements in different population groups, measurement of dietary intake, associations between diet, lifestyle and disease, clinical application of nutrition, issues in food processing, food choice and eating behaviour (very topical at the moment), nutritional guidelines and public health policies, food labelling and so on. The articles on carotenoids, food fortification, fructose, legumes, tea, tuberculosis and vegetarian diets are US government works in the public domain and are not subject to copyright.
Volume 1 covers topics from acids to dietary fibre, volume 2 deals with dietary guidelines to hypoglycaemia, volume 3 looks at topics from the immune system to a comprehensive section on pregnancy and volume 4 continues with the topic of pregnancy, right the way through to zinc. Each entry ranges from eight to 50 pages in length and contains a list of contents, references and suggestions for further reading. The articles use diagrams, graphs, and tables to convey factual information and each ends with a list of related topics that are covered elsewhere in the encyclopedia.
The structure of the book is superb. The material in the encyclopedia is arranged as a series of entries in alphabetical order. Most entries consist of several articles that deal with various aspects of a topic and are arranged in a logical sequence within an entry. Some entries comprise a single article. There are three features to help the reader find the topic of their choice – a contents list, cross reference list and an index. All four volumes follow the same index, which is a useful feature, allowing the reader to search for minor terms and to find information on topics that are discussed in more than one article.
The editorial board and the contributors (approximately 340 in total) are highly respected academics and practicing nutritionists from around the world. They are listed at the front of each volume, which seems to me to be a waste of pages to produce this same information in all four volumes.
An added feature is a web‐accessible electronic version that has several benefits for both the librarian and the reader. For the librarian it allows multiple access via institution‐wide IP based recognition, saving the cost of purchasing multiple copies. It also has outward links to the full‐text journal articles, book series and abstract databases. The online benefits for the reader include basic and advanced search functionality within the volume or across the whole of the work, which increases efficiency.
This is an authoritative, valuable and comprehensive encyclopedia, which outlines all aspects of nutrition. The editors have done an admirable job in putting together such a coherent reference on such a broad subject. This is intended for a wide and diverse readership. Researchers, students and professionals, from both the academic and corporate environment including nutritionists, clinical nutritionists, dieticians and allied health workers, plus university/medical school and public libraries and managers and lawyers within the food industry, will find this a valuable reference. The only drawback is the price (nearly £500), which puts it out of the reach of individuals and most public and small health libraries.
