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Review
. 2023 Jun;12(2):224-230.
doi: 10.1007/s13668-023-00455-2. Epub 2023 Jan 25.

Women in Nutrition Science: A Biographical Review

Apeksha Shah  1 , Ajanta J Raman  2 , Dustin R Neel  3 , Caleb J Kelly  4
Affiliations
Review

Women in Nutrition Science: A Biographical Review

Apeksha Shah et al. Curr Nutr Rep. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose of the review: The field of nutrition is in debt to a cadre of women who led the field through its formative years. This review highlights the contributions of these women that are gleaned through analysis of biographical articles published in The Journal of Nutrition.

Recent findings: Forces emerged during the development of nutrition science, such as departments of home economics and the majority-female field of dietetics, that suggest women might be well represented in biographical articles in the field of nutrition. However, just 29 women have been the subject of biographical articles in The Journal of Nutrition representing 14.3% of the 202 biographical articles published to date - a percentage lower than scientific journals overall. This review explores these biographies to identify factors that facilitated and hindered careers and to highlight the manifold scientific contributions of women in nutrition science. This review looks toward the past to provide perspective and inspiration for those working in the field of nutrition today.

Keywords: Diet; Female; History; Nutrition; Science; Women.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: •   Of importance •• Of major importance
    1. • Hamann J. Let us salute one of our kind. How academic obituaries consecrate research biographies. Poetics. 2016;56:1–14. This qualitative analysis of academic obituaries identifies potential biases common to this genre. It also highlights commonly overlooked areas in this literature including socio-structural factors such as gender.
    1. Journal of Nutrition: American Society for Nutrition; [August 1, 2022]. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/jn .
    1. Okey R. Agnes Fay Morgan (1884–1968)–A biographical sketch. J Nutr. 1974;104(9):1101–7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Turner ND, Chapkin RS. Biography of Joanne R Lupton (1944–2020). J Nutr. 2022;152(4):914–6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anzman-Frasca S, Davison KK, Fisher JO, Francis LA, Johnson SL, Lavner JA, et al. Biography of Leann L Birch, PhD, 25 June 1946 - 26 May 2019. J Nutr. 2020;150(6):1343–7.

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