The Skinny on Food
RSSDaryl Grabarek, Curriculum Connections -- School Library Journal, 09/22/2009
While heath care personnel stress the importance of portion size and balanced meals, all around them teens see restaurants advertising all-you-can-eat prices and fast foods. When it comes to nutrition, mixed messages and misinformation abound.
Food and Nutrition (Marshall Cavendish, 2009; Gr 7 Up), an eight-volume encyclopedia, sets the record straight on questions students might have on these topics. The 220-plus articles cover nine general categories including cooking and eating, weight and weight loss, food safety, and the cultural and social aspects of food. And while it’s likely that students will first encounter this set on research missions, chances are they’ll return to investigate topics of personal interest.
In addition to well-written articles on various cuisines, nutrition-related diseases and disease prevention, human growth and development, digestion, labeling, specific edibles, vitamins, diet fads, self-esteem and food, and cooking methods (along with a few recipes), a final volume is full of data and statistics that will support research reports. Individual articles refer students to further print and online resources. Colorful images, including sharp photos, clearly labeled diagrams and charts, and attractive reproductions, add to the set’s appeal. This is solid fare, well worth its purchase price.
