A Review of Nutritional Anthropology

Abstract：Nutritional Anthropology is an interdisciplinary field resulting from the combination of nutritional science and anthropology and is one which aims to explore the relationship between culture， nutrition and health. Anthropology itself is a cross discipline which links the two areas of nature and humanities. So， using an anthropological approach for a nutritional intake study can also be taken from both natural and cultural perspectives.

Nutrition is a biochemical concept， whereas the source of nutritionfoodis a cultural concept. Correspondingly， hunger is also a biological concept based on physiological reactions， whereas “appetite means a cultural choice when confronted with hunger. The choice of food in every society has its own cultural rationale. Food which can provide nutriment but does not necessarily conform to the cultural choices of people in the society， may thus be a “nutrition” that is rejected by the people in this society. To classify food as “edible” and “not edible”， to interpret cooking ways， taste preferences and social identity within social and cultural background forms the content of the Anthropology of Food which belongs to social and cultural anthropology. On the other hand， once the food is consumed， it becomes part of nutrition. This is the process by which the body is able to to function， and maintains its health and growth by constant ingesting chemical substances obtained from the outside. The process and various changes can be explained using the theoretical framework of physical anthropology.（Xi，Wang and Guan，2004） So， Nutritional Anthropology can be categorized as “Nutritional AnthropologyMedical AnthropologyPhysical AnthropologyAnthropology” within the chain of the general anthropological discipline.

From the perspective of Nutritional Anthropology， people， environment and society are combined into a cultural system of reciprocal causation and mutual penetration， and issues related to health and nutrition are far from simple biomedical problems. Correspondingly， the purpose of Nutrition Anthropology research is to reveal the deep social and cultural reasons which are hidden beneath the presentative nutritional status， so that the condition of humans health can be indirectly affected by means of adjusting political governance， economic operational model and ecological environment etc. Furthermore， amplifying this corresponding relationship into a much larger integrated system， Nutritional Anthropology also discusses issues like how the natural environment， the food trade system， nutritional status， and culture interact with each other. Main areas of concern include： the impact of the global circulation of food on human nutritional status； science and technology， GMF and food safety issues； how society can make the nutritional value of a certain food； green revolution； food production and land deterioration； Land expropriation； Labor migration and nutritional problems； the impact of largescale monocropping； malnutrition caused by “delocalization” and the “commodification” of traditional food； religious， food taboos， nutritional inhibiting and malnutrition problems； physical aesthetic and health problems in social cognition； concepts of dietary therapy /tonic supplement and health problems， etc. Meanwhile， the comparative analysis of different peoples understanding of “nutrition” is also debated in Nutritional Anthropology， for example， the criteria for evaluating fatness， slimness and malnutrition can vary extensively based upon different cultural backgrounds. Peoples current nutritional status could possibly be ascribed to the adaptation of their surrounding environment， or as a result of historical or genetic product.