Book Reviews
Nutrition and Fitness: Diet, Genes, Physical Activity and Health,
edited by Artemis P Simopoulos and Konstantinos N Pavlou,
2001, 192 pages, hardcover, $198.25. Karger, Basel, Switzerland.
This book presents the proceedings of the 4th International
Conference on Nutrition and Fitness, held in Athens, Greece, in
May 2000, before the Olympic games.
The conference was dedicated to the concept of positive
health as stated by Hippocrates in 480 BC: “Positive health
requires a knowledge of man’s primary constitution and of the
powers of various foods, both those natural to them and those
resulting from human skill. But eating is not enough for health.
There must be also exercise, of which the effects must likewise
be known. … If there is any deficiency in food or exercise the
body will fall sick.” Hippocrates had recognized the roles of
man’s primary constitution (genetics) and nutrition and exercise
in achieving positive health.
To resonate with Hippocrates’ concept, this book comprises 3
sections: “Genetic Variation and Nutrition,” “Genes and Physical
Activity Interactions,” and “The Role of Omega3 Fatty Acids in
Health and Disease.”
The first section covers several aspects of the gene-nutrient
interaction. After an overview of the effects of various nutrients
on DNA damage and repair, transcriptional and posttranscriptional
regulation of several genes by nutrients are described. These
include the transcriptional regulation of lac operon in Escherichia
coli and of Gal regulon in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the reg-
ulation of pyruvate kinase and fatty acid synthase by carbohy-
drates, sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 by cholesterol,
ferritin by iron, peroxisome proliferator activated receptors by
retinoic acid and fatty acids, nuclear factor B by fatty acids, and
endothelial adhesion molecules by fatty acids.
This section also includes several chapters on the relation
between nutrition and coronary artery disease such as 1) the
effects of dietary fat and carbohydrates on LDL heterogeneity,
2) the effects of the polymorphisms in the apolipoproteins A-I,
C-III, and A-IV and lipoprotein lipase genes on the postprandial
triacylglycerol response, 3) the variability at the fibrinogen locus
and coronary artery disease risk, and 4) the variability in the
5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene and dietary folate
requirements. In addition, relations between osteoporosis and vita-
min D receptor polymorphisms are described. Finally, the new
technologies for the investigation of gene expression and poly-
morphisms are reviewed.
The second section begins by describing the effects of aerobic
exercise on the expression of apolipoproteins A-I and B, the LDL
receptor, and the scavenger receptor. The next chapter focuses on
the dependence of the bone volume response to exercise on
genetic variation and the candidate genes to explain the variabil-
ity. The final section focuses on the importance of omega–3 fatty
acids on somatic growth and brain development; cardiovascular
disease, with particular emphasis on arrhythmias; and depression.
696 Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:696–7. Printed in USA. © 2002 American Society for Clinical Nutrition
This book serves as a timely bridge between the clinical and
basic science branches of nutrition and helps us understand that
macro- and micronutrients are potent regulators of gene expres-
sion and that genetic variability affects the response to nutrients.
The editors have done a remarkable job in improving our under-
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/76/3/696/4677479 by guest on 26 July 2019
standing of gene-nutrient interactions.
Sidika E Kasim-Karakas
Division of Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition
University of California, Davis, Medical Center
4150 V Street
G400, PSSB
Sacramento, CA 95817
E-mail: sidika@mailbox.ucdavis.edu
Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease, edited by
Ann M Coulston, Cheryl L Rock, and Elaine R Monsen, 2001, 801
pages, hardcover, $99.95. Academic Press, London.
Written by nutrition researchers and dietitians with extensive
clinical experience, this book is a useful addition to the clinical
nutritionist’s bookshelf. The book emphasizes brief updates and
commentaries. Basic concepts that undergird practice, clinical
nutrition intervention, and disease-specific prevention and treat-
ment strategies are discussed in a manner that it is likely to stim-
ulate a science-based approach. The book should help to speed the
integration into clinical practice of newer findings regarding
genetic, behavioral, and environmental influences on the preven-
tion and treatment of disease.
The book begins with chapters on basic principles and con-
cepts, including those that are relevant in studying the relation
between diet, nutrition, and disease. Methodologies for dietary
assessment, determination of energy requirements, and physical
assessment are discussed. Overviews of methods used in nutri-
tional epidemiology and in the analysis, presentation, and inter-
pretation of dietary data are presented. Next, nutrition interven-
tions, including their theoretical bases; some tools and techniques
for facilitating dietary change; and lessons learned from clinical
trials are considered. Procedures for evaluating nutrition inter-
ventions are summarized, and an overview of biomarkers for
measuring exposures or tracking interventions is presented.
The importance of genetic factors in the development of dis-
ease and in the response to dietary interventions is underscored in
chapters discussing lipid disorders, obesity, cancers, and inborn
errors of metabolism. Although nutrients from food and supple-
ments are well described in most nutrition texts, some of the newer
forms in which they are delivered are not. Thus, chapters on oral
 BOOK REVIEWS
nutritional supplements, parenteral and enteral nutrition, and
herbal and botanical supplements are welcome.
The chapters on disease-specific interventions for prevention
and treatment cover most major diseases with dietary implica-
tions. The coverage of cardiovascular disease includes chapters
on dietary macronutrients and other dietary components and on
cardiovascular risk. Nutritional factors involved in the preven-
tion and management of hypertension and congestive heart fail-
ure are discussed in detail. Breast, colon, prostate, and lung can-
cers and general considerations in the treatment of patients with
cancer are examined. The association between obesity and the
risk of diabetes mellitus sets the stage for discussions of the
nutritional management of type 1, type 2, and gestational dia-
betes. Obesity is addressed with an overview of treatments and
interventions and more-detailed attention to the roles of physi-
cal activity and macronutrient intake in the control of body
weight. Behavioral risk factors for obesity and the role of taste
and appetite in the regulation of body weight are also discussed.
Common gastrointestinal symptoms and gastrointestinal dis-
eases, such as lactose intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease,
short-bowel syndrome, and liver disease, are covered. Other
major diseases, including renal disease, Parkinson disease,
Alzheimer disease, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, the eating disor-
ders, cystic fibrosis, and immunodeficiency syndromes, are also
covered. The book concludes with a discussion of nutritional
guidelines to maintain health.
Several changes are recommended for the book’s next edi-
tion. First, a brief list of key references for additional reading
697
would be helpful. Second, because dietary reference intakes are
now available for nearly all nutrients and other components in
food, more attention should be given to the use of these values
in assessing and planning intakes. Third, the many generic or
disease-specific functional scales, health-related quality of life
assessment, and outcome indicators need more attention.
Fourth, more information on the human genome and the lan-
guage of genetics and examples of the genetics of diabetes and
hypertension would be helpful. Fifth, fortified foods and “func-
tional” food ingredients are popular and should be given atten-
tion. Finally, more coverage on combinations of hypoenergetic
diets and pharmacologic agents would further strengthen the
obesity section.
The book complements more basic clinical nutrition texts
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/76/3/696/4677479 by guest on 26 July 2019
by providing an overview of the role of nutrition in risk
reduction and disease treatment that is a useful addition to
university and hospital libraries. It will also be a good addi-
tion to the syllabi of undergraduate and graduate courses in
clinical nutrition.
Johanna T Dwyer
Box 783
Tufts-New England Medical Center
750 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111
E-mail: jdwyer1@lifespan.org