Why calories count: from science to politics
Nutrition Seminar
Friday 6 July 2012
10:00 to 11:00, Salle D (7th floor)
WHO Geneva, Switzerland
Speakers:
Dr Marion Nestle and Dr Malden Nesheim
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. The speakers, Dr Marion Nestle and Dr Malden Nesheim will discuss what calories are and how they work, both biologically and politically. They will deliberate about the issues that are fundamental to our understanding of diet and food, weight gain, loss, and obesity. Nestle and Nesheim have sorted through a great deal of the misinformation put forth by food manufacturers and diet programme promoters. They will share with the audience the political stakes and show how some government and corporate policies have come together to create an “eat more” environment and discuss how the consumers can get the necessary information to interpret food labels, evaluate diet claims, and understand evidence as presented in popular media.
Hosted by:
Dr Francesco Branca, Director and Dr Juan Pablo Pena-Rosas, Coordinator
Department of Nutrition for Health and Development