Quick Look Nursing: Nutrition (second edition)
1
Quick Look Nursing: Nutrition (second edition) Marian L. Farrell and Jo A.L. Nicoteri. 288 pp. Jones and Bartlett Publishing, Sudbury, MA, USA. ISBN: 9780763737399. Price: $36.95 (paperback). This book is one of a series of Quick Look Nursing titles and is well set out and organized into punchy sections with Quick Facts, Closer Look and checking questions at the end of each chapter. The layout is its strong point. The content is disappointing. The book has been written for a US audience, or one using dietary reference values, dietary guidelines and the food pyramid from the USA. These recom- mendations and tools differ from those used in the UK, Europe and internationally, and although this need not be a constraint, the concepts underpin all of the practical information in the book. A non-USA- based reader needs to constantly keep in mind that the recommendations and the assumptions about the dietary habits of the population do not entirely tally with those at home. This can involve subtle differ- ences; for example, USA recommendations for adult fat intake, is that intakes should be between 20% and 35% of total calories with less than 300 mg/day of cholesterol. In the UK, there is no lower recommen- dation on fat intakes, and in WHO reports the figures are lower at 15–30% total calories. Neither UK nor WHO makes specific recommendations on dietary cholesterol because this is considered to have a rela- tively minor impact on cardiovascular disease risk compared with saturated fat intakes. In other places, it is the dietary pattern of the USA that limits the appli- cability of the book, for example, the suggestion that fruit and vegetable intakes may decline in middle age (40–65 years) because of issues of ‘access and denti- tion’ is not borne out in the UK where these age groups tend to have higher intakes. Sadly, the book also contains inaccuracies and sometimes fails to provide information in a logical sequence. The information on infant feeding is par- ticularly alarming and sufficient to undermine confi- dence in the rest of the chapters. Mothers are to be encouraged to ‘allow the baby to nurse 5–10 minutes at each breast and schedule feeding every 3 or 4 hours!’ ‘Routine’ is the recurrent theme in the infant feeding chapters, and this is so much at odds with long-established understanding of the physiology of breastfeeding that the book is misleading and poten- tially dangerous. There are very few diagrams in the book, and the Quick Facts seem to contain a miscellany of informa- tion as if selected for trivia rather than for a clear educational purpose. Similarly, the multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter have limited educational value, for example, how useful is it. Ask: ‘What is an average amount of food to be fed to an infant?’ Answer: 1–2 tablespoons, 2–4 tablespoons, etc. Clearly the answer should depend on the age of the infant, their appetite and how far along the process of starting solid foods they have come. Overall, the book seems to have been written by non-experts and fails to deliver an insightful coverage of the subject.The authors give just seven references, three of which are manuals or text books themselves. There is no doubt that a quick-reference practical guide on nutrition would be useful, but accuracy shouldn’t be thrown out in the name of brevity. For readers of Maternal and Child Nutrition, the poor advice on infant feeding is probably enough to make many of you give it a wide berth. Carol Williams UCL-Centre for International Health and Development Institute of Child Health UK E-mail: [email protected] Book Review 234 © 2008 The Author. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Maternal and Child Nutrition (2008), 4, p. 234
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Transcript of Quick Look Nursing: Nutrition (second edition)
Quick Look Nursing: Nutrition (second edition)
Marian L. Farrell and Jo A.L. Nicoteri. 288 pp. Jonesand Bartlett Publishing, Sudbury, MA, USA. ISBN:9780763737399. Price: $36.95 (paperback).
This book is one of a series of Quick Look Nursing
titles and is well set out and organized into punchysections with Quick Facts, Closer Look and checkingquestions at the end of each chapter. The layout is itsstrong point. The content is disappointing.
The book has been written for a US audience, orone using dietary reference values, dietary guidelinesand the food pyramid from the USA. These recom-mendations and tools differ from those used in theUK, Europe and internationally, and although thisneed not be a constraint, the concepts underpin all ofthe practical information in the book. A non-USA-based reader needs to constantly keep in mind thatthe recommendations and the assumptions about thedietary habits of the population do not entirely tallywith those at home. This can involve subtle differ-ences; for example, USA recommendations for adultfat intake, is that intakes should be between 20% and35% of total calories with less than 300 mg/day ofcholesterol. In the UK, there is no lower recommen-dation on fat intakes, and in WHO reports the figuresare lower at 15–30% total calories. Neither UK norWHO makes specific recommendations on dietarycholesterol because this is considered to have a rela-tively minor impact on cardiovascular disease riskcompared with saturated fat intakes. In other places, itis the dietary pattern of the USA that limits the appli-cability of the book, for example, the suggestion thatfruit and vegetable intakes may decline in middle age(40–65 years) because of issues of ‘access and denti-tion’ is not borne out in the UK where these agegroups tend to have higher intakes.
Sadly, the book also contains inaccuracies andsometimes fails to provide information in a logical
sequence. The information on infant feeding is par-ticularly alarming and sufficient to undermine confi-dence in the rest of the chapters. Mothers are to beencouraged to ‘allow the baby to nurse 5–10 minutesat each breast and schedule feeding every 3 or 4hours!’ ‘Routine’ is the recurrent theme in the infantfeeding chapters, and this is so much at odds withlong-established understanding of the physiology ofbreastfeeding that the book is misleading and poten-tially dangerous.
There are very few diagrams in the book, and theQuick Facts seem to contain a miscellany of informa-tion as if selected for trivia rather than for a cleareducational purpose. Similarly, the multiple choicequestions at the end of each chapter have limitededucational value, for example, how useful is it. Ask:‘What is an average amount of food to be fed to aninfant?’ Answer: 1–2 tablespoons, 2–4 tablespoons,etc. Clearly the answer should depend on the age ofthe infant, their appetite and how far along theprocess of starting solid foods they have come.
Overall, the book seems to have been written bynon-experts and fails to deliver an insightful coverageof the subject. The authors give just seven references,three of which are manuals or text books themselves.There is no doubt that a quick-reference practicalguide on nutrition would be useful, but accuracyshouldn’t be thrown out in the name of brevity. Forreaders of Maternal and Child Nutrition, the pooradvice on infant feeding is probably enough to makemany of you give it a wide berth.
Carol WilliamsUCL-Centre for International Health and
Development
Institute of Child Health
UK
E-mail: [email protected]
Book Review
234 © 2008 The Author. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Maternal and Child Nutrition (2008), 4, p. 234
