Marion Nestle

New York University | NYU · Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health

In Reply Mr Satin raises several points in response to my recent Invited Commentary¹ about how food companies fund research for marketing purposes: (1) I give the impression that all industry-funded research is inherently tainted; (2) I ignore the industry’s triumph in fortifying foods with nutrients; (3) I fail to mention intellectual conflicts of...

Industry-sponsored nutrition research, like that of research sponsored by the tobacco, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, almost invariably produces results that confirm the benefits or lack of harm of the sponsor’s products, even when independently sponsored research comes to opposite conclusions.¹ Although considerable evidence demonstrates...

In Reply Dr Kahn requests evidence that nutrition research funded by food companies is of lesser quality than studies funded by independent agencies or performed by investigators with nonfinancial conflicts of interest. Concerns about such issues are relatively recent; few published studies address them directly. Instead, concerns about industry sp...

This Viewpoint emphasizes that nutrition researchers and professional societies need to recognize the influence of food-industry sponsorship, take steps to control its effects, and ensure that sponsored studies promote public health. The longstanding influence of food industry funding on nutrition research, researchers, and professional societies1...

Conflicts of interest arise when corporations marketing harmful products establish financial relationships with research institutions, researchers, or public health organizations. As obesity becomes a worldwide epidemic, such relationships threaten to jeopardize the integrity of scientific research. Latin America, a region undergoing rapid developm...

The tobacco industry claims uniform packets are just the start and the food industry will be next. Not so, says Marion Nestle

Conditions related to nutrition are commonly seen in clinical practice, yet few physicians have the knowledge, experience, or time to discuss how patients’ diets affect their health. Over the last half century, many individuals and groups have called for more and better nutrition instruction during medical education. The most recent plea is in this...

To examine the opinions of stakeholders on strategies to improve dietary quality of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. Participants answered a thirty-eight-item web-based survey assessing opinions and perceptions of SNAP and programme policy changes. Survey of 522 individuals with stakeholder interest in SNAP, conducted...

Conflicts of interest in medical research, education, and practice are well known to increase the risk of undue influence by corporate sponsors. Because conflicts of interest are so prevalent and troublesome, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was asked to develop guidelines for dealing with them. An IOM committee reviewed the substantial body of evid...

On December 11, 2012, the New York Times devoted its front-page, right-hand column—the most important news of the day—to a welcome surprise: several cities were reporting declines in the prevalence of childhood obesity.1 Although the declines were small, 5% or less, they were hopeful signs of a possible reverse in the sharp increase in childhood ob...

To determine if obesity and dietary quality in low-income children differed by participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program. The study population included 5193 children aged 4 to 19 with household incomes ≤130% of the federal poverty level from the 1999-2008 NHANES. Diet was measured by usin...

Rapid technological prpogress means self-drving cars are in the fast lane to consumer reality. Is the law up to speed too, wonders US legal expert Bryant Walker Smith

state that this condi-tion poses “the single greatest threat to public health inthis century.” It seems evident that the current obesityepidemic is caused by an excess of calorie intake overexpenditure encouraged by an environment that pro-motesexcessivefoodintakeanddiscouragesphysicalac-tivity. Restaurant foods, large portion sizes, and ubiqui-tou...

Obesity poses a serious problem for domestic and international food companies. In today's investment economy, companies must not only make a profit but must continually report growth in profits to satisfy the demands of investors and Wall Street analysts. But prevention of obesity requires people to consume less, and to do so in food environments o...

It is now generally accepted that lifestyle—diet, tobacco use, exercise—has a major impact on health, especially lifestyle-related chronic diseases. However, there is a world of difference between awareness of these facts and their translation into preventive action.

In an article that forms part of the PLoS Medicine series on Big Food, guest editors David Stuckler and Marion Nestle lay out why more examination of the food industry is necessary, and offer three competing views on how public health professionals might engage with Big Food.

Calories-too few or too many-are the source of health problems affecting billions of people in today's globalized world. Although calories are essential to human health and survival, they cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted. They are also hard to understand. In Why Calories Count, Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim explain in clear and accessible lang...

In the fall of 2011, I taught a graduate food studies course at New York University devoted to the farm bill, a massive and massively opaque piece of legislation passed most recently in 2008 and up for renewal in 2012. The farm bill supports farmers, of course, but also specifies how the United States deals with such matters as conservation, forest...

To describe food and beverage types offered and consumed during classroom celebrations at an elementary school in a low-income, urban community. In addition, to report student intake of fresh fruit provided alongside other party foods. Observations held during 4 classroom celebrations. Food and beverage items were measured and counted before and af...

The world's first fat tax is in place. Ironically, it is enviably healthy Denmark that is leading the way. What's their motivation, asks Marion Nestle

Food safety is a matter of intense public concern, and for good reason. Millions of annual cases of food "poisonings" raise alarm not only about the food served in restaurants and fast-food outlets but also about foods bought in supermarkets. The introduction of genetically modified foods-immediately dubbed "Frankenfoods"-only adds to the general s...

Is it time to establish a food studies canon? In recent years, the field of food studies has come into its own as a means to investigate critical questions about production and consumption. This commentary explores the written sources of two academics' interest in food, and the books that have sparked the food studies movement and today's food revo...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires establishments with 20 or more locations nationwide to post calorie counts along with a succinct statement concerning suggested daily caloric intake. Marion Nestle argues that calorie labeling is well worth the trouble.

At no point in US history have food products displayed so many symbols and statements proclaiming nutrition and health benefits. Front-of-package claims, often used in violation of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling regulations, have become ubiquitous in food marketing.1- 2 Recently, the FDA embarked on an initiative to review front-of-pac...

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Cornell University, August, 1996.

Marion Nestle, acclaimed author of Food Politics, now tells the gripping story of how, in early 2007, a few telephone calls about sick cats set off the largest recall of consumer products in U.S. history and an international crisis over the safety of imported goods ranging from food to toothpaste, tires, and toys. Nestle follows the trail of tainte...

How do you cope with a mountain of conflicting diet advice?

Because the sizes of food portions, especially of fast food, have increased in parallel with rising rates of overweight, health authorities have called on fast-food chains to decrease the sizes of menu items. From 2002 to 2006, we examined responses of fast-food chains to such calls by determining the current sizes of sodas, French fries, and hambu...

Everyone knows that American children are becoming fatter, but not everyone agrees on the cause. Dr. Marion Nestle asks, is food marketing responsible? The author discusses childhood obesity and the marketing of food to children.

We eat what we buy and decisions about what we buy are heavily influenced by the food industry, government policies, and our personal beliefs about food. A nutritionist’s viewpoint with respect to eating is expected to be governed largely by objective, peer-reviewed science, but the beliefs of most people are insulated from that primary layer of in...

A selection of amusing morsels from the history of nutrition science.

Dietary approaches to cancer chemoprevention increasingly have focused on single nutrients or phytochemicals to stimulate one or another enzymatic metabolizing system. These procedures, which aim to boost carcinogen detoxification or inhibit carcinogen bioactivation, fail to take into account the multiple and paradoxical biological outcomes of enzy...

The greater energy content of larger food portions could be contributing to the increasing prevalence of overweight. Prevention guidelines recommend "sensible" portion sizes but do not define them. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines standard serving sizes for dietary guidance, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines standard...

H ere is a great irony of 21st-century global public health: While many hundreds of millions of people lack adequate food as a result of economic inequities, political corruption, or warfare, many hundreds of millions more are overweight to the point of increased risk for diet-related chronic

Children enjoy an occasional treat. However, evidence shows that young people throughout the world enjoy “liquid candy” (i.e., soft drinks) much more than occasionally. In fact, the amount of soft drinks young people consume has steadily increased during recent decades. Excessive soft-drink consumption is alarming, because it may pose significant r...

Enteral nutrition support among elderly residents of long-term care facilites is a common health care intervention. The literature investigating the effectiveness of enteral nutrition in the same population is somewhat controversial. This article reviews the literature on the effectiveness of enteral nutrition in elderly residents of long-term care...

Preface Introduction: The Food Industry and "Eat More" PART ONE Undermining Dietary Advice 1. From "Eat More" to "Eat Less," 1900-1990 2. Politics versus Science: Opposing the Food Pyramid, 1991-1992 3. "Deconstructing" Dietary Advice PART TWO Working the System 4. Influencing Government: Food Lobbies and Lobbyists 5. Co-opting Nutrition Profession...

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are considered to be the most common bacterial infection. According to the 1997 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, UTI accounted for nearly 7 million office visits and 1 million emergency department visits, resulting in 100,000 hospitalizations. Nevertheless,...

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has set aggressive challenge goals for the nation to decrease cancer incidence and mortality--and to improve the quality of life of cancer survivors--by the year 2015. To address these critical goals, the ACS publishes the Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines to serve as a foundation for its communication, po...

We evaluated the effects of vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol) on mutagen sensitivity levels in a randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial. In brief, a dietary supplement of 1000 mg/day vitamin E or a placebo was randomly administered for 3 months to melanoma outpatients clinically free of the disease. Plasma vitamin E and mutagen sensitivity levels...

Because larger food portions could be contributing to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity, this study was designed to weigh samples of marketplace foods, identify historical changes in the sizes of those foods, and compare current portions with federal standards. We obtained information about current portions from manufacturers or f...

"We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing exposé, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States--enough calories to meet the needs of every man, woman, and chil...

US minority health issues involve racial/ethnic disparities that affect both women and men. However, women's health advocacy in the United States does not consistently address problems specific to minority women. The underlying evolution and political strength of the women's health and minority health movements differ profoundly. Women of color com...

Bulletin of the History of Medicine 75.2 (2001) 347-348 Kenneth J. Carpenter. Beriberi, White Rice, and Vitamin B: A Disease, a Cause, and a Cure. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000. xiv + 282 pp. Ill. $40.00; £24.95. With breakfast cereals, juices, and candy as well as wheat flour now fortified with vitamins, and with h...

It is now generally accepted that lifestyle—diet, tobacco use, exercise—has a major impact on health, especially Western diseases. However, there is a world of difference between awareness of these facts and their translation into preventive action.

Dietary guidelines for health promotion and disease prevention in the USA recommend a consumption pattern based largely on grains, fruit and vegetables, with smaller amounts of meat and dairy foods, and even smaller amounts of foods high in fat and sugar. Such diets are demonstrably health promoting, but following them raises ethical issues related...

The principal nutritional problems of developed economies are related to the excessive and unbalanced intake of energy and nutrients. During the 20th century, as economies improved and food production became more efficient, conditions related to undernutrition were replaced by epidemics of coronary heart disease, certain cancers and other chronic c...

Healthy People 2010 objectives call for meals and snacks served in schools to contribute to overall diets that meet federal dietary guidelines. Sales in schools of foods and drinks high in calories and low in nutrients undermine this health objective, as well as participation in the more nutritious, federally sponsored, school lunch programs. Compe...

Some anthropologists have suggested that humans are genetically determined to eat diets quite different from those of today. Very little human evolution has occurred in the past 15,000 years. However, diets have changed dramatically and in parallel with a shift in disease patterns from infectious diseases and diseases associated with nutrient defic...

Traditional ways of preventing and treating overweight and obesity have almost invariably focused on changing the behavior of individuals, an approach that has proven woefully inadequate, as indicated by the rising rates of both conditions. Considering the many aspects of American culture that promote obesity, from the proliferation of fast-food ou...

Regulation of health claims made for dietary supplements is shared by two federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for advertising and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for labels. The agencies define their regulatory roles differently. Whereas the FTC has one policy for all types of claims for all products, the FDA distinguishes—a...

An ideal diet is one that promotes optimal health and longevity. Throughout history, human societies have developed varieties of dietary patterns based on available food plants and animals that successfully supported growth and reproduction. As economies changed from scarcity to abundance, principal diet-related diseases have shifted from nutrient...