ANTH-B 545 - PROF. ANDREA WILEY

This course will take a biocultural approach to the study of diet and nutrition, with a focus on contemporary issues. We will explore the biological and material basis of diet and the biological consequences of dietary choices, and how these are also related to cultural variability in food use. The course will start with a review of basic concepts in digestion and nutrition, including methods to assess dietary intake and nutritional status. We will consider contemporary issues in nutrition, in light of the dietary environment of the U.S. and more globally, and the role of diet in human evolution and how diet may contribute to biological variation among humans. We will investigate how political, economic, and cultural factors influence nutritional outcomes (e.g. under- or overconsumption) and the construction of food and nutrition policies related to those outcomes.