Define the Concept of Public Nutrition?

The rapidly changing global trends in the area of food consumption patterns, lifestyles and environment have a tremendous impact on the nutrition and health profiles of the communities. Though today's consumer is much better informed about various issues relating to his health, the information explosion also adds to the confusion in making the right choices and staying clear of misinformation and misconceptions. Therein, emerges the need for professionals with sound knowledge to ensure proper nutrition and positive health of the people they serve. This need is being felt more acutely in the current health scenario prevailing all over the world, though the specific issues may vary from country to country. In this unit, we will lean about concept of public nutrition, we would learn as to what public nutrition is all about and why do we want to study it? We will begin by explaining certain terms used in the area of public nutrition. We will also learn about the concept and essential component of health care and its delivery. This will help us to understand the role of public nutritionist in health care delivery.

Objectives                                                                                           

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• Define the terms nutrition, health and public nutrition,
• Discuss the concept of public nutrition, its scope and future projections,
• Explain the concept of health care and the three different levels at which it is available to the community, describe the health system
• Describe primary health care and the various components of primary health care, and
• Define the role of the public, nutritionist in health care delivery.