Nutrition in Public Health: Principles, Policies, and Practice

This second edition of a bestseller, Nutrition in Public Health: Principles, Policies, and Practice focuses on the role of the federal government in determining nutrition policy and influencing practice. Beginning with an overview of public health principles, the book examines the application of nutritional policy to dietary guidance, health promotion, and the practice of public health nutrition.

Highlights of New Coverage in the Second Edition:

• Legislation such as Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010; Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill); and proposals for the next Farm Bill
• Discussions of study designs, the SEED-SCALE model for health promotion, health disparities and health equity, worksite wellness, Let’s Move!, and other initiatives
• Impact of the ACA on menu labeling policies, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Act, and legislation regarding breastfeeding
• Examination of health disparities, demographic trends, and health literacy; sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression; and the role of social media in tailored health communications
• 2010 Dietary Guidelines with analysis of potential upcoming changes in 2015 Dietary Guidelines, Healthy Eating Index 2010, MyPlate, and Harvard Healthy Eating Plate
• Best Bones Forever! Campaign, text messaging for tailored health communication, and 4 Day Throw Away study assessing the use of social media for education regarding food safety

The book explores the importance of nutrition as a component of the broad field of public health. The authors review the principles of public health nutrition, examining nutritional epidemiology and programs that deal with health disparities, weight control challenges, and the needs of special populations. The text addresses the practice of public health nutrition through tools for conducting a food and nutrition assessment of a community, designing and carrying out a social marketing campaign, and developing large and small grant proposals.

Nutrition in Public Health provides an integrated view of nutrition needs and the policies and political mechanisms that affect the delivery of quality food and nutrition services. It gives students a thorough understanding of the federal government’s role in determining nutrition policy and influencing practice.

Arlene Spark attended the City College of New York (CCNY) and Columbia University Teachers College. After majoring in English at CCNY, she worked for a year as a narcotics caseworker for the New York City Department of Social Services and then for three years as a home economics teacher at the Narcotics Addiction Control Commission (NAAC). The Commission awarded her a paid educational leave of absence for an MS in Public Health Nutrition. She subsequently earned an EdM in community nutrition and started teaching on the college level--and has been teaching on the college level ever since. A United States Public Health Traineeship allowed her to return to school to complete a doctorate in nutrition education. Dr. Spark's career in nutrition includes 12 years of clinical practice and teaching in the Departments of Pediatrics and Community & Preventive Medicine at New York Medical College. At the American Health Foundation she was a co-PI on an NHLBI intervention study in pediatric preventive cardiology, and she served as a co-I on an NHLBI study of the elderly in the Department of Community Medicine at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (now the Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai). Since 1998, Dr. Spark has taught in the City University of New York (CUNY). She is professor in the masters and doctoral programs in the CUNY School of Public Health. She has a New York State Permanent Teaching license in Home Economics (it was through home economics that she discovered nutrition). She was in the first cohort of registered dietitians (RDs) to become board certified in pediatric nutrition and in the second cohort of RDs to become a Fellow of the American Dietetic Association (now the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics). Dr. Spark is the co-author of Food Policy: Looking Forward From the Past (2015). She lives in Demarest, New Jersey, almost 3000 miles away from her daughter and grandsons in Davis, California.Lauren Dinour