PLUS : S U PER TA STER S n I N F I GHT I NG SHAPE n DONOR RECOGN I T I ON

Banningthe bottleBreastfeeding in America is a complex mix of science, economics, policy and culture

NUTRITION

MAGAZINE OF THE GERALD J. AND DOROTHY R. FRIEDMAN SCHOOL OF NUTRITION SCIENCE AND POLICY VOL. 8 NO. 1 WINTER 2006

BARRY J. ROSENBAUM, M.D., A60 and Renée Underwood of Atlanta, Georgia, have

established a charitable remainder unitrust to benefit the Friedman School of Nutrition

Science and Policy and the Tufts University Alumni Association. The unitrust gave

them the ability to make a significant gift to Tufts as well as to provide them with

income for life. Barry, a retired academic and practicing physician, is the founder of the

Atlanta Nephrology Referral Center. Although Renée is not a Tufts graduate, she has

grown to love the university and the Friedman School as passionately as her husband.

GR

EG

OR

YC

AM

PB

EL

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“ My experience as a member of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science

and Policy’s Board of Overseers has confirmed my belief that the school is a world

class institution. As a Tufts’ alumnus, I am proud to support their mission.”“

”

For information about charitable remainder trusts and other gift planning options,contact Tufts’ Gift Planning Office toll-free at 1-888-748-8387 or via email to giftplanning@tufts.edu. Visit us online at www.tufts.edu/giftplanning.

CharlesTufts

Society

CharlesTufts

SocietyGIFT PLANNING

OFFICE

Make your dream come true for the university you love.Make your dream come true for the university you love.

For this installment of “Ask Tufts Nutrition,” Kathleen A. Merrigan, an assistant professor and director of the Agriculture, Food andEnvironment Program and the Center for Agriculture, Food andEnvironment at the Friedman School, serves as our expert.

Q: Recently, I saw a bag of USDA-certified organic rice thatwas labeled “product of Pakistan.” I’ve also seen USDA-

certified organic pears from Argentina. How does the USDA ensurethat food grown overseas truly meets organic standards?

A: I’m not surprised that consumers are noticing organicimported products. Today, more than 100 countries

produce food organically on 59 million acres of land. Argentina has 7.4 million organic acres, the second most of any country in the world, while Pakistan is a minor producer with just under5,000 organic acres.

In the United States, 20,000 natural food stores and 73percent of conventional grocery stores sell organic productsproduced on our 2.35 million domestic organic acres.

Imported organic food must meet one of three criteria. Oneis that our country could establish an “equivalency agreement”with another country, which means that even if our standardsare not identical, we consider them equivalent, and food

may be traded without impediment. The other two ways require thatU.S. standards be met exactly. A U.S.-based certification agent, such asthe Northeast Organic Farming Association here in the Northeast, couldtravel to another country, inspect the farm and certify that U.S. organicstandards are being met. The third option is for certifying agents fromother countries to apply for USDA accreditation. If they are accepted, itmeans that the USDA believes that agent to be competent to inspectfood producers in their home countries and determine if they meet U.S.standards.

While these mechanisms provide the necessary tools, our nationalorganic program has been in place only since October 2002. Time willtell if the USDA will take the kinds of enforcement actions likely nec-essary to prevent fraud over the long term.

ASK TUFTS NUTR IT ION

Imported organic trust

PHOTO: MELODY KO

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 1

D E P A R T M E N T S

3 A La CarteResearch in brief

30 On CampusFriedman School news

34 University News36 Alumni News43 Donor RecognitionCover illustration by Stephen Schildbach

C O V E R S T O R Y

18 Banning the bottle by Helene Ragovin

Is the current push forbreastfeeding a healthimperative or a formula forconfusion?

C O N T E N T SW I N T E R 2 0 0 6 I V O L U M E 8 , N O . 1

F E A T U R E S

6 The Super Tasters by Julie Flaherty

Some may owe their sophisticated palates to asmall genetic difference.

11 Where Are They Now?by Jacqueline Mitchell

Checking in on the nutrition school’s first crop of students.

15 Fired Up for Fitnessby Marjorie Howard

Firefighters get the call for a wellness makeover.

26 In Fighting Shapeby Jacqueline Mitchell

The new battle of the bulge and what it meansfor the nation’s armed forces.

6

RESEARCH IN BRIEF A LA CAR TE

THE NEXT TIME YOU PICK UP A CAN OF COLA, THINK

about your bones. That soda may be suckingminerals from your bones, increasing yourrisk of developing osteoporosis.

“The more cola that women drank, thelower their bone mineral density was,” saidKathleen Tucker, director of the Epidemiologyand Dietary Assessment Program at the JeanMayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Cen-ter on Aging and a co-author of the researchpublished in the October issue of the Amer-ican Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Tucker and her colleagues analyzed diet-ary questionnaires and bone mineral den-sity measurements at the spine and threeplaces on the hip of more than 2,500 peoplein the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Inwomen, cola consumption was associatedwith lower bone mineral density at all threehip sites, regardless of their age, menopaus-al status, total calcium and vitamin D intakeand the use of cigarettes or alcohol.

However, cola consumption did not affectbone mineral density in the hips of men, norwas it associated with lower density in thespine for both men and women. Drinking dietcola produced similar results, and bone min-eral loss was somewhat less for drinkers ofdecaffeinated cola.

The men reported drinking an average offive cola beverages a week, while the womanconsumed four cola drinks.

Before you swear off cola altogether,Tucker says that “there is no concrete evidence that an occasional colawill harm the bones.” But, sheadds, “women concerned aboutosteoporosis may want to steeraway from frequent consump-tion of cola until further stud-ies are conducted.”

BAD TO THE BONE

Sight robber

ILLUSTRATION: ELVIS SWIFT w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3

- , ’

sugar bowl yet. Low-quality carbs—like those found in potatoes,white bread and white rice—may be linked to a common form ofvision loss, according to research by Allen Taylor, chief of theLaboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research at the HNRCA.Taylor and his colleagues found that women who consumed dietswith a relatively high glycemic index were more likely to developsigns of early age-related macular degeneration than women whoconsumed diets with a low glycemic index.

The glycemic index ranks foods according to their effect onblood sugar (or glucose) levels. High-glycemic-index foods—suchas potatoes, bananas, white bread and white rice—cause bloodsugar to spike higher and sooner than lower-glycemic-index foodssuch as whole wheat breads, oats and pasta.

“Most highly processed foods are high-glycemic-index foods,”says the study’s lead author, Dr. Chung-Jung Chiu, a scientist inTaylor’s lab and assistant professor at the School of Medicine.

Given that the vessel-rich retina depends on blood glucose tofunction, researchers suspected that glucose metabolism mightaffect this part of the eye. The macula, at the center of the retina,is responsible for our central vision and ability to see fine details.Age-related macular degeneration is one of the most commonforms of vision loss in people over age 40 and affects more than1.5 million Americans. The study appeared in the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition.

The Tufts researchers examined the eyes of more than 500healthy women between the ages of 53 and 73. They also looked atthe women’s total carbohydrate intake over the preceding 10 years.Total carbohydrate intake, however, could not be linked to the eyedisease, leading the scientists to conclude the types of carbohy-drates being consumed mattered more than the absolute amount.To follow up, Chiu is investigating whether high-glycemic-leveldiets are associated with a greater risk of the disease progressing.

2 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

FROM TH E DEAN E I L E E N K E N N E D Y

T U F T S N U T R I T I O N

. , .

EditorJulie Flaherty

Editorial DirectorKaren Bailey

Art DirectorMargot Grisar

DesignersPaul DiMattia, Betsy Hayes

Contributing WritersMarjorie Howard, Jacqueline Mitchell,

Helene Ragovin

Editorial AdvisorsEileen Kennedy, D.Sc., Dean

Gerald J. and Dorothy R. FriedmanSchool of Nutrition Science and Policy

Patrick Webb, Ph.D., Dean Academic Affairs

Mark Grossmann, DirectorDevelopment and Alumni Relations

Cindy Briggs Tobin, DirectorAnnual Giving and Alumni Relations

Tufts Nutrition is a publication of the Gerald J. andDorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Scienceand Policy at Tufts University for alumni, key uni-versity personnel, students, faculty, staff and others

with an interest in the school.

The mission of the school is to passionately advancenutritional well-being for people worldwide through

excellence in research, teaching and the shaping ofpublic policy.

We welcome your letters.Correspondence should be sent to:

Julie Flaherty, Tufts Nutrition,Tufts University Office of Publications,200 Boston Ave., Medford, MA 02155Tel: 617-627-4273 Fax: 617-627-3549

E-mail: julie.flaherty@tufts.edu

We’re online. Please check out the magazine and theworld of Tufts Nutrition athttp://nutrition.tufts.edu.

THE MAILBOX IS EMPTYTufts Nutrition is your publication, and asthe editor, I am eager to hear from readers.Let me know what you like and don’t like.Tell me what you want to read about. Ilook forward to hearing from you.

Julie Flaherty, Editor, Tufts NutritionTufts University Office of Publications 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155tel: 617-627-4273 fax: 617-627-3549 e-mail: julie.flaherty@tufts.edu

School. On November 3, Tufts University launched the active phase of a new capital cam-paign, Beyond Boundaries: The Campaign for Tufts. The campaign has significant implica-tions for building a solid base for the Friedman School to continue to attract world-classfaculty and students.

The Friedman School is fortunate to have Elizabeth Cochary Gross, an alumna and mem-ber of the Board of Overseers, as the school’s vice chair for the campaign. The FriedmanSchool’s campaign goal is $50 million. We seek to build on our efforts over the past two years,including the vision reflected in our 2005 Strategic Plan to train the future leaders in nutri-tion. This provides an opportunity for faculty, staff, students, alumni and the larger Fried-man community to chart where the school wants to be five, 10, 25 years from now.

The first annual Friedman School Symposium was convened on September 19. Thetheme—Dietary Guidelines 2010: The Right Stuff—attracted scientists and policymakersfrom government, academia and the private sector. Throughout the two-day symposium,there was a lively discussion on the links between science and policy. The school was fortu-nate to have Mark Hegsted as one of the keynote speakers. He was one of the architects of the1977 Senate Dietary Goals as well as the first Dietary Guidelines for Americans published in1980. His remarks highlighted the fact that researchers need to go beyond scientific discov-ery to influence the public policy agenda. Almost 30 years after Hegsted championed theDietary Goals, his passion for nutrition is still palpable.

Another popular part of the symposium was the “Meet the Students” breakfast, when ourstudents had an opportunity to meet scientists from around the world. We are fortunate thatthe proceedings from the symposium will be one summary document that will be used indeliberations for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.

Early in 2007 the Friedman School will be launching the first in a series of conferences forthe general public. We want to have a dialogue on timely nutrition topics. Stay tuned!

The Rosenberg Professorship in Nutrition and Human Security, named in honor of for-mer Dean Irwin H. Rosenberg, was inaugurated at a celebration on November 13. PeterWalker, director of the Feinstein International Center, is the first chair holder. His lecture out-lined the four forces that threaten human security: climate change, globalization, empirechange and the pervasive “attitude virus” of us versus them. At the same event, the schoolhonored the 2006–07 Friedman Fellows—Jennifer Obadia, Kamel Patel and Chloe Puett. Thefun continued at a reception and dinner at Gifford House with President Lawrence S. Bacowand Adele Fleet Bacow.

On October 20, I had the opportunity to attend the USDA awards ceremony in Wash-ington, D.C., when Jose Ordovas, professor of nutrition and a senior scientist at the JeanMayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, was one of a select group of indi-viduals—and the only nutrition scientist—to receive the Agricultural Secretary’s HonorAward. Congratulations, Jose.

Congratulations, also, to Jerry Dallal, the 2006 recipient of the Friedman School’s Dis- tinguished Faculty Award. A ceremony and reception were held in Boston on December 13.

I’d like to hear from the readers of Tufts Nutrition. What do you want to hear more aboutfrom me? Please e-mail me at eileen.kennedy@tufts.edu and let me know.

Charting our future

RESEARCH IN BRIEF A LA CAR TE

THE NEXT TIME YOU PICK UP A CAN OF COLA, THINK

about your bones. That soda may be suckingminerals from your bones, increasing yourrisk of developing osteoporosis.

“The more cola that women drank, thelower their bone mineral density was,” saidKathleen Tucker, director of the Epidemiologyand Dietary Assessment Program at the JeanMayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Cen-ter on Aging and a co-author of the researchpublished in the October issue of the Amer-ican Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Tucker and her colleagues analyzed diet-ary questionnaires and bone mineral den-sity measurements at the spine and threeplaces on the hip of more than 2,500 peoplein the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Inwomen, cola consumption was associatedwith lower bone mineral density at all threehip sites, regardless of their age, menopaus-al status, total calcium and vitamin D intakeand the use of cigarettes or alcohol.

However, cola consumption did not affectbone mineral density in the hips of men, norwas it associated with lower density in thespine for both men and women. Drinking dietcola produced similar results, and bone min-eral loss was somewhat less for drinkers ofdecaffeinated cola.

The men reported drinking an average offive cola beverages a week, while the womanconsumed four cola drinks.

Before you swear off cola altogether,Tucker says that “there is no concrete evidence that an occasional colawill harm the bones.” But, sheadds, “women concerned aboutosteoporosis may want to steeraway from frequent consump-tion of cola until further stud-ies are conducted.”

BAD TO THE BONE

Sight robber

ILLUSTRATION: ELVIS SWIFT w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3

- , ’

sugar bowl yet. Low-quality carbs—like those found in potatoes,white bread and white rice—may be linked to a common form ofvision loss, according to research by Allen Taylor, chief of theLaboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research at the HNRCA.Taylor and his colleagues found that women who consumed dietswith a relatively high glycemic index were more likely to developsigns of early age-related macular degeneration than women whoconsumed diets with a low glycemic index.

The glycemic index ranks foods according to their effect onblood sugar (or glucose) levels. High-glycemic-index foods—suchas potatoes, bananas, white bread and white rice—cause bloodsugar to spike higher and sooner than lower-glycemic-index foodssuch as whole wheat breads, oats and pasta.

“Most highly processed foods are high-glycemic-index foods,”says the study’s lead author, Dr. Chung-Jung Chiu, a scientist inTaylor’s lab and assistant professor at the School of Medicine.

Given that the vessel-rich retina depends on blood glucose tofunction, researchers suspected that glucose metabolism mightaffect this part of the eye. The macula, at the center of the retina,is responsible for our central vision and ability to see fine details.Age-related macular degeneration is one of the most commonforms of vision loss in people over age 40 and affects more than1.5 million Americans. The study appeared in the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition.

The Tufts researchers examined the eyes of more than 500healthy women between the ages of 53 and 73. They also looked atthe women’s total carbohydrate intake over the preceding 10 years.Total carbohydrate intake, however, could not be linked to the eyedisease, leading the scientists to conclude the types of carbohy-drates being consumed mattered more than the absolute amount.To follow up, Chiu is investigating whether high-glycemic-leveldiets are associated with a greater risk of the disease progressing.

2 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

FRO M THE DEAN E I L E E N K E N N E D Y

T U F T S N U T R I T I O N

. , .

EditorJulie Flaherty

Editorial DirectorKaren Bailey

Art DirectorMargot Grisar

DesignersPaul DiMattia, Betsy Hayes

Contributing WritersMarjorie Howard, Jacqueline Mitchell,

Helene Ragovin

Editorial AdvisorsEileen Kennedy, D.Sc., Dean

Gerald J. and Dorothy R. FriedmanSchool of Nutrition Science and Policy

Patrick Webb, Ph.D., Dean Academic Affairs

Mark Grossmann, DirectorDevelopment and Alumni Relations

Cindy Briggs Tobin, DirectorAnnual Giving and Alumni Relations

Tufts Nutrition is a publication of the Gerald J. andDorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Scienceand Policy at Tufts University for alumni, key uni-versity personnel, students, faculty, staff and others

with an interest in the school.

The mission of the school is to passionately advancenutritional well-being for people worldwide through

excellence in research, teaching and the shaping ofpublic policy.

We welcome your letters.Correspondence should be sent to:

Julie Flaherty, Tufts Nutrition,Tufts University Office of Publications,200 Boston Ave., Medford, MA 02155Tel: 617-627-4273 Fax: 617-627-3549

E-mail: julie.flaherty@tufts.edu

We’re online. Please check out the magazine and theworld of Tufts Nutrition athttp://nutrition.tufts.edu.

THE MAILBOX IS EMPTYTufts Nutrition is your publication, and asthe editor, I am eager to hear from readers.Let me know what you like and don’t like.Tell me what you want to read about. Ilook forward to hearing from you.

Julie Flaherty, Editor, Tufts NutritionTufts University Office of Publications 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155tel: 617-627-4273 fax: 617-627-3549 e-mail: julie.flaherty@tufts.edu

School. On November 3, Tufts University launched the active phase of a new capital cam-paign, Beyond Boundaries: The Campaign for Tufts. The campaign has significant implica-tions for building a solid base for the Friedman School to continue to attract world-classfaculty and students.

The Friedman School is fortunate to have Elizabeth Cochary Gross, an alumna and mem-ber of the Board of Overseers, as the school’s vice chair for the campaign. The FriedmanSchool’s campaign goal is $50 million. We seek to build on our efforts over the past two years,including the vision reflected in our 2005 Strategic Plan to train the future leaders in nutri-tion. This provides an opportunity for faculty, staff, students, alumni and the larger Fried-man community to chart where the school wants to be five, 10, 25 years from now.

The first annual Friedman School Symposium was convened on September 19. Thetheme—Dietary Guidelines 2010: The Right Stuff—attracted scientists and policymakersfrom government, academia and the private sector. Throughout the two-day symposium,there was a lively discussion on the links between science and policy. The school was fortu-nate to have Mark Hegsted as one of the keynote speakers. He was one of the architects of the1977 Senate Dietary Goals as well as the first Dietary Guidelines for Americans published in1980. His remarks highlighted the fact that researchers need to go beyond scientific discov-ery to influence the public policy agenda. Almost 30 years after Hegsted championed theDietary Goals, his passion for nutrition is still palpable.

Another popular part of the symposium was the “Meet the Students” breakfast, when ourstudents had an opportunity to meet scientists from around the world. We are fortunate thatthe proceedings from the symposium will be one summary document that will be used indeliberations for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.

Early in 2007 the Friedman School will be launching the first in a series of conferences forthe general public. We want to have a dialogue on timely nutrition topics. Stay tuned!

The Rosenberg Professorship in Nutrition and Human Security, named in honor of for-mer Dean Irwin H. Rosenberg, was inaugurated at a celebration on November 13. PeterWalker, director of the Feinstein International Center, is the first chair holder. His lecture out-lined the four forces that threaten human security: climate change, globalization, empirechange and the pervasive “attitude virus” of us versus them. At the same event, the schoolhonored the 2006–07 Friedman Fellows—Jennifer Obadia, Kamel Patel and Chloe Puett. Thefun continued at a reception and dinner at Gifford House with President Lawrence S. Bacowand Adele Fleet Bacow.

On October 20, I had the opportunity to attend the USDA awards ceremony in Wash-ington, D.C., when Jose Ordovas, professor of nutrition and a senior scientist at the JeanMayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, was one of a select group of indi-viduals—and the only nutrition scientist—to receive the Agricultural Secretary’s HonorAward. Congratulations, Jose.

Congratulations, also, to Jerry Dallal, the 2006 recipient of the Friedman School’s Dis- tinguished Faculty Award. A ceremony and reception were held in Boston on December 13.

I’d like to hear from the readers of Tufts Nutrition. What do you want to hear more aboutfrom me? Please e-mail me at eileen.kennedy@tufts.edu and let me know.

Charting our future

, ,

milk, eggs and fish, have lower levels of homocysteine in their blood. Betaine,which is derived from choline and is found in grains, spinach and beets, has thesame benefit, according to a study published in the American Journal of ClinicalNutrition. The findings are good news, because higher plasma levels of homocys-teine—an amino acid involved in hundreds of reactions throughout the body—have been linked to cardiovascular disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease andsome cancers.

“We don’t know if homocysteine is the culprit or just a bystander or a marker,but the association [with those diseases] is pretty clear,” said the study’s co-author,Paul Jacques, a senior scientist in the Nutritional Epidemiology Program at theHNRCA and a professor at the Friedman School.

To determine how choline and betaine affect homocysteine levels in the blood,the researchers analyzed data from almost 2,000 volunteers enrolled in the Fra-mingham Offspring Study, which keeps tabs on the adult children of participantsin the long-running Framingham Heart Study. Recruited in 1971, more than 5,000offspring continue to fill out questionnaires and undergo examinations for thestudy every three or four years. Jacques and his colleagues used self-reported foodrecords and blood tests from 1991 to 1994 to examine the relationship betweendietary choline and betaine intake and blood homocysteine levels—somethingthat was not possible until the USDA published a database of choline-containingfoods in 2004.

“Based on the biology, we would have predicted that dietary choline wouldaffect fasting homocysteine levels, but now we have a way of testing it,” Jacquessaid. The database—developed largely by one of Jacques’s co-authors, Steven H.Zeisel of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at ChapelHill—contains the choline and betaine content of hundreds of foods, from freshegg yolks, one of the richest sources of the nutrient, to carbonated cola drinks,which contain almost none.

The researchers found that higher intakes ofcholine and betaine each were related to lowerlevels of homocysteine in the blood,independent of age, sex and whether aperson smokes, drinks caffeine or takesblood pressure medication. Jacques andhis colleagues also found the results heldwhen they adjusted for consumptionof folates and B vitamins, a family ofnutrients shown in previous studies tolower homocysteine levels. That Jacquesand his colleagues were able to showcholine and betaine’s role inhomocysteine metabolism mayrepresent evidence that the generalpopulation’s intake of the nutrients isinadequate.

“If we were all consuming adequatelevels of choline, we wouldn’t see theseresults,” Jacques said.

PEOPLE WHO CARRY A GENE VARIANT THAT REGULATES THE METABOLISM OF FAT

in the blood may raise their risk for heart disease if their diets areladen with omega-6 fatty acids, found in meats and processed foodsmade with corn and soy oils.

In their study involving 2,000 participants in theFramingham Heart Study, HNRCA researchers found that13 percent of men and women carried the variant ofthe apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) gene. Those whosedaily diets contained more than six percent of calo-ries from foods containing omega-6 fatty acids hadblood lipid profiles that made them more prone toatherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heartdisease, including higher triglyceride levels. The studywas published in Circulation.

“Previous research points to polyunsaturated fattyacids like omega-3s and omega-6s as ‘good’ fats, thought toreduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels ifused in place of saturated fats that are mostly found in animalsources,” said senior author of the study Jose Ordovas, director ofthe HNRCA Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory.

Omega-6s and omega-3s are known as essential fatty acids thathave to be derived from the diet because our bodies don’t producethem. Omega-3s are found in nuts, leafy green vegetables, fatty fishand vegetable oils like canola and flaxseed, while omega-6s are

found in grains, meats and vegetable oils.However, Ordovas noted, current research has not

yet found “if there is an optimal ratio for omega-3s toomega-6s, or if consuming a certain amount ofomega-6s might negate the benefits of omega-3s.”But for the 13 percent who are carriers of theAPOA5 gene variant, he said, consuming feweromega-6s in relation to omega-3s may be important

in helping reduce the risk of heart disease.In the study, the carriers of the variant who ate

more than six percent of their total calories from omega-6s had a 21 percent increase in triglyceride levels and a 34

percent elevation of certain atherogenic lipoprotein particles in theblood. However, consumption of omega-3s decreased triglyceride andatherogenic lipoprotein levels in the blood, regardless of a person’sAPOA5 gene variant.

The lowdown on choline

,

a prescription for medication. But what if physicians also prescribed exercise?Two researchers at the HNRCA are proposing that doctors use the famil-

iar medication prescription to help their older patients incorporate physicalactivity into their routines.

In an article in the journal American Family Physician, Ann Yelmokas McDermott, aresearcher in the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory, and Heather Mernitz, a scientist in theNutrition and Cancer Biology Laboratory, offer physicians specific guidelines for giving

older patients “exercise prescriptions.”Their exercise prescription employs these elements: Frequency, Intensity, Type,

Time, Progression—collectively called FITT-PRO.A FITT-PRO exercise prescription must be tailored to each patient’s health sta-tus and explicitly recommend what type of exercise to do, how often, how hard

and for how long. The exercises must also progress in difficulty over time asthe patient becomes more physically fit.

Fewer than half of older adults report ever having their physician suggestexercise, and “only 30 percent of America’s senior citizens engage in regular

exercise,” McDermott said. “Clinicians shouldn’t feel like they have to be fitness expertsto discuss exercise with their patients,” she said. “These guidelines are intended to serveas a how-to manual for health-care providers.”

The authors suggest that any fitness regimen combine aerobic exercise, resistancetraining, flexibility and lifestyle modification.

“Seniors tend to have less access than other demographic groups to physical activityinformation and programming,” Mernitz said, but “they have relatively more contactwith their health-care providers.”

WITH HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS IN THE SUPERMAR-

ket cereal aisle alone, how do consumersdecide what goes in their shopping cart?Nutritional labels don’t seem to have muchsway, according to an Associated Press poll.While close to 80 percent of Americans saythey read nutritional labels, nearly half confess to buying unhealthy foods anyway.

“This doesn’t surprise me,” said SusanRoberts, chief of the HNRCA Energy andMetabolism Laboratory and professor ofnutrition. “Once people get to the point ofreading a food label, they have probablyalready largely committed to buying it.”

The FDA mandated nutritional labelingfor virtually all packaged foods and someproduce in 1994. Meant to serve as acheck on marketing claims such as “lowfat” and “lite,” the labels also were design-ed to help Americans make healthier foodchoices. More than 10 years later, however,two-thirds of Americans are obese or overweight, and that rate keeps climbing.

It’s not that people don’t know what tolook for. The AP survey of 1,003 adultsfound that most people check food labelsfor fat and calorie content. Moreover,Americans are savvy shoppers, with almostthree-quarters of them double-checkingproducts’ claims of “low fat” or “reducedfat” against the nutrition label on the back.

Labels alone aren’t enough, said JeanneP. Goldberg, director of the Center on Nutri-tion Communication at the Friedman School.“We need to figure out what informationpeople really need and include that as partof comprehensive nutritional education.”

LABELINGFOR NAUGHT

Rx for exercise

A LA CAR TE RESEARCH IN BRIEF

4 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 ILLUSTRATION: ELVIS SWIFT

F

GENETICS AND HEART DISEASE

PHOTOS: GETTYIMAGES w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 5

, ,

milk, eggs and fish, have lower levels of homocysteine in their blood. Betaine,which is derived from choline and is found in grains, spinach and beets, has thesame benefit, according to a study published in the American Journal of ClinicalNutrition. The findings are good news, because higher plasma levels of homocys-teine—an amino acid involved in hundreds of reactions throughout the body—have been linked to cardiovascular disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease andsome cancers.

“We don’t know if homocysteine is the culprit or just a bystander or a marker,but the association [with those diseases] is pretty clear,” said the study’s co-author,Paul Jacques, a senior scientist in the Nutritional Epidemiology Program at theHNRCA and a professor at the Friedman School.

To determine how choline and betaine affect homocysteine levels in the blood,the researchers analyzed data from almost 2,000 volunteers enrolled in the Fra-mingham Offspring Study, which keeps tabs on the adult children of participantsin the long-running Framingham Heart Study. Recruited in 1971, more than 5,000offspring continue to fill out questionnaires and undergo examinations for thestudy every three or four years. Jacques and his colleagues used self-reported foodrecords and blood tests from 1991 to 1994 to examine the relationship betweendietary choline and betaine intake and blood homocysteine levels—somethingthat was not possible until the USDA published a database of choline-containingfoods in 2004.

“Based on the biology, we would have predicted that dietary choline wouldaffect fasting homocysteine levels, but now we have a way of testing it,” Jacquessaid. The database—developed largely by one of Jacques’s co-authors, Steven H.Zeisel of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at ChapelHill—contains the choline and betaine content of hundreds of foods, from freshegg yolks, one of the richest sources of the nutrient, to carbonated cola drinks,which contain almost none.

The researchers found that higher intakes ofcholine and betaine each were related to lowerlevels of homocysteine in the blood,independent of age, sex and whether aperson smokes, drinks caffeine or takesblood pressure medication. Jacques andhis colleagues also found the results heldwhen they adjusted for consumptionof folates and B vitamins, a family ofnutrients shown in previous studies tolower homocysteine levels. That Jacquesand his colleagues were able to showcholine and betaine’s role inhomocysteine metabolism mayrepresent evidence that the generalpopulation’s intake of the nutrients isinadequate.

“If we were all consuming adequatelevels of choline, we wouldn’t see theseresults,” Jacques said.

PEOPLE WHO CARRY A GENE VARIANT THAT REGULATES THE METABOLISM OF FAT

in the blood may raise their risk for heart disease if their diets areladen with omega-6 fatty acids, found in meats and processed foodsmade with corn and soy oils.

In their study involving 2,000 participants in theFramingham Heart Study, HNRCA researchers found that13 percent of men and women carried the variant ofthe apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) gene. Those whosedaily diets contained more than six percent of calo-ries from foods containing omega-6 fatty acids hadblood lipid profiles that made them more prone toatherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heartdisease, including higher triglyceride levels. The studywas published in Circulation.

“Previous research points to polyunsaturated fattyacids like omega-3s and omega-6s as ‘good’ fats, thought toreduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels ifused in place of saturated fats that are mostly found in animalsources,” said senior author of the study Jose Ordovas, director ofthe HNRCA Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory.

Omega-6s and omega-3s are known as essential fatty acids thathave to be derived from the diet because our bodies don’t producethem. Omega-3s are found in nuts, leafy green vegetables, fatty fishand vegetable oils like canola and flaxseed, while omega-6s are

found in grains, meats and vegetable oils.However, Ordovas noted, current research has not

yet found “if there is an optimal ratio for omega-3s toomega-6s, or if consuming a certain amount ofomega-6s might negate the benefits of omega-3s.”But for the 13 percent who are carriers of theAPOA5 gene variant, he said, consuming feweromega-6s in relation to omega-3s may be important

in helping reduce the risk of heart disease.In the study, the carriers of the variant who ate

more than six percent of their total calories from omega-6s had a 21 percent increase in triglyceride levels and a 34

percent elevation of certain atherogenic lipoprotein particles in theblood. However, consumption of omega-3s decreased triglyceride andatherogenic lipoprotein levels in the blood, regardless of a person’sAPOA5 gene variant.

The lowdown on choline

,

a prescription for medication. But what if physicians also prescribed exercise?Two researchers at the HNRCA are proposing that doctors use the famil-

iar medication prescription to help their older patients incorporate physicalactivity into their routines.

In an article in the journal American Family Physician, Ann Yelmokas McDermott, aresearcher in the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory, and Heather Mernitz, a scientist in theNutrition and Cancer Biology Laboratory, offer physicians specific guidelines for giving

older patients “exercise prescriptions.”Their exercise prescription employs these elements: Frequency, Intensity, Type,

Time, Progression—collectively called FITT-PRO.A FITT-PRO exercise prescription must be tailored to each patient’s health sta-tus and explicitly recommend what type of exercise to do, how often, how hard

and for how long. The exercises must also progress in difficulty over time asthe patient becomes more physically fit.

Fewer than half of older adults report ever having their physician suggestexercise, and “only 30 percent of America’s senior citizens engage in regular

exercise,” McDermott said. “Clinicians shouldn’t feel like they have to be fitness expertsto discuss exercise with their patients,” she said. “These guidelines are intended to serveas a how-to manual for health-care providers.”

The authors suggest that any fitness regimen combine aerobic exercise, resistancetraining, flexibility and lifestyle modification.

“Seniors tend to have less access than other demographic groups to physical activityinformation and programming,” Mernitz said, but “they have relatively more contactwith their health-care providers.”

WITH HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS IN THE SUPERMAR-

ket cereal aisle alone, how do consumersdecide what goes in their shopping cart?Nutritional labels don’t seem to have muchsway, according to an Associated Press poll.While close to 80 percent of Americans saythey read nutritional labels, nearly half confess to buying unhealthy foods anyway.

“This doesn’t surprise me,” said SusanRoberts, chief of the HNRCA Energy andMetabolism Laboratory and professor ofnutrition. “Once people get to the point ofreading a food label, they have probablyalready largely committed to buying it.”

The FDA mandated nutritional labelingfor virtually all packaged foods and someproduce in 1994. Meant to serve as acheck on marketing claims such as “lowfat” and “lite,” the labels also were design-ed to help Americans make healthier foodchoices. More than 10 years later, however,two-thirds of Americans are obese or overweight, and that rate keeps climbing.

It’s not that people don’t know what tolook for. The AP survey of 1,003 adultsfound that most people check food labelsfor fat and calorie content. Moreover,Americans are savvy shoppers, with almostthree-quarters of them double-checkingproducts’ claims of “low fat” or “reducedfat” against the nutrition label on the back.

Labels alone aren’t enough, said JeanneP. Goldberg, director of the Center on Nutri-tion Communication at the Friedman School.“We need to figure out what informationpeople really need and include that as partof comprehensive nutritional education.”

LABELINGFOR NAUGHT

Rx for exercise

A LA CAR TE RESEARCH IN BRIEF

4 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 ILLUSTRATION: ELVIS SWIFT

F

GENETICS AND HEART DISEASE

PHOTOS: GETTYIMAGES w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 5

G . ,

audience with their tongues hanging out. Literally. As part of a

talk on taste sensitivity, she passes out little circles of filter paper

embedded with what is, to some people, a bitter-tasting com-

pound with the unappetizing name of 6-n-propylthiouracil.

She can tell immediately who in the audience is genetically pro-

grammed to taste it. n “It is absolutely striking,” she said.

“You can see it on people’s faces.” Those who are sensitive to the

compound usually grimace like a baby tasting its first Brussels

sprouts. The non-tasters look curiously around the room,

wondering what the fuss is about because “it literally tastes like

a piece of paper to them.” n It’s more than a party trick. This lit-

tle test may provide genetic clues as to why some people like

vegetables and others don’t, why some can eschew high-fat

foods and others can’t, and why some people stay thin while

others (many others) gain weight. n Tepper, N82, N86, a food

science professor at Rutgers University, has been studying

taste sensitivity for almost two decades. As an academic who

often works closely with the food industry, she is combining

food sensory science with nutrition science and psychology to

better understand the links between taste, diet and health.

PHOTO/TART: VITO ALUIA w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 76 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

This simple test may offer genetic cluesabout why some of us stay thin while otherspack on the pounds

the

G . ,

audience with their tongues hanging out. Literally. As part of a

talk on taste sensitivity, she passes out little circles of filter paper

embedded with what is, to some people, a bitter-tasting com-

pound with the unappetizing name of 6-n-propylthiouracil.

She can tell immediately who in the audience is genetically pro-

grammed to taste it. n “It is absolutely striking,” she said.

“You can see it on people’s faces.” Those who are sensitive to the

compound usually grimace like a baby tasting its first Brussels

sprouts. The non-tasters look curiously around the room,

wondering what the fuss is about because “it literally tastes like

a piece of paper to them.” n It’s more than a party trick. This lit-

tle test may provide genetic clues as to why some people like

vegetables and others don’t, why some can eschew high-fat

foods and others can’t, and why some people stay thin while

others (many others) gain weight. n Tepper, N82, N86, a food

science professor at Rutgers University, has been studying

taste sensitivity for almost two decades. As an academic who

often works closely with the food industry, she is combining

food sensory science with nutrition science and psychology to

better understand the links between taste, diet and health.

PHOTO/TART: VITO ALUIA w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 76 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

This simple test may offer genetic cluesabout why some of us stay thin while otherspack on the pounds

the

“We recognized that PROP tasters not onlytaste the bitterness of PROP and the bitternessof other compounds more, but they perceivesweetness more; they perceive the texturalaspects of dairy products more; they perceivehotness—like chili pepper—more,” Teppersaid. “It’s a whole range of sensory character-istics that they seem to be more sensitive to.”

How is one bitter receptor on the tongueresponsible for all these differences? One the-ory is that people who are tasters, and inparticular, super-tasters, seem to have moretaste buds. And people who have more tastebuds, it follows, may experience most tastesensations more intensely.

Perhaps because of this, super-tasters alsoseem to pick up on food nuances. When Tep-per asked study subjects to describe a range ofdairy products they tasted, the super-tastersused lots of adjectives—creamy, thick, rich,buttery, sticky, syrupy and milky. The non-tasters used just a handful of words todescribe what they ate. “They perceive some-thing different,” Tepper explained, “and theyclearly know what they like, but they have dif-ficulty describing it.”

WEIGHING INAll of which may be useful for predictingwho will grow up to be a food critic. Tepper,however, is looking for a connection thatcould have larger public health implications:How does PROP taster status affect weight?

Two years ago, Tepper found that womenin their 40s who were super-tasters were 20percent thinner than non-tasters. The super-tasters appeared to eat less overall, be it bittervegetables or fatty foods. The super-tastershad a body-mass index of 23.5; the mediumtasters had an average of 26.6, and the non-tasters nearly 30. (A BMI of 30 or above isconsidered obese.) So far, she has only seenbody-weight correlations to PROP status inwomen, not men.

But before you run out to have your PROPstatus tested, you should know that there areplenty of exceptions to these rules. Tepper isherself a super-taster. (“That little disk is sobitter to me, it blows the back of my head off,”she explained.) And yet, she likes all the foodsshe theoretically should hate. “It took me anumber of years to develop a taste for them,but I like hot food; I like briny olives; I like

anchovies; I like broccoli and Brusselssprouts,” she admitted. “After a while Ithought, ‘I don’t even support my ownhypothesis, so how is this going to work?’It’s rather obvious: It’s not just taste geneticsthat’s influencing people’s behavior and foodpreferences. There are so many other factors.And we can’t just forget about all of them.”

DARING DINERSOne significant factor is food adventurous-ness, or a willingness to try unfamiliar foods.“We decided to add just a single question toour surveys: How often do you try newfoods?” They found that super-tasters whoare not food adventurous are the ones whohate everything. As a super-taster who is alsofood adventurous, Tepper’s food preferencesmake perfect sense.

Another trump card is a person’s ability tofight food urges, called “restrained eating.”People’s self-control, particularly if they areconcerned about nutrition or their weight,seems to override taster status, so that statis-tically, it has no effect on body-mass index.So this one gene does not control weight—or

definitively determine what foods you like.Nor does it mean that super-taster childrenare destined for a vegetable-free life. Tepperrecently looked at a group of preschoolers tounderstand when these genetic differencesappear. (The results appeared this July in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition). Sheoffered the kids carrots and red pepper alongwith the more bitter cucumbers, raw broccoliand black olives (which, while not technicallyvegetables, are viewed that way by children).

The children showed clear signs of theirPROP status and food preferences at thisearly age. The non-tasters spontaneously atealmost a serving of vegetables, including moreof the bitter ones. But the taster kids were noslouches, eating almost a half-serving of veg-etables of their choosing.

“It is possible to get vegetables into kids ifyou pay some attention to their genetic pre-dispositions. What’s ultimately valuable is whatsomeone selects or doesn’t select when they aregiven a variety of choices,” Tepper said.

One question she has is whether mothers,who make most of the menu decisions athome, are offering their children vegetablesthat they may not like themselves and givingtheir children an opportunity to develop apreference for them.

Tepper, who grew up in Boston and stud-ied biology at Northeastern University, was amember of the first nutrition school class atTufts. Looking back, she is glad that she andher classmates were required to study notonly basic nutritional biochemistry, but alsothe impact of nutrition on people, includingthose in the developing world. “You reallyunderstood the interdisciplinary nature ofnutrition, and I find that is a bit lacking insome programs,” she said.

After graduating with her Ph.D. in 1986,she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at thePhiladelphia-based Monell Chemical SensesCenter, a research institute focused on tasteand smell research. Her interest in sensoryevaluation was born. When a position cameup at Rutgers for a sensory scientist in 1989,she took it.

As director of Rutgers’ Sensory Evalua-tion Laboratory, Tepper often collaborateswith food companies. “When I work withindustry, usually there is something applied init that they are interested in and something

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 98 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTOS: THOMAS E. FRANKLIN

er interest in taste genetics began around 1994 whenshe was investigating why some people enjoy high-fat foods more than others do. She asked testsubjects to rate foods with different levels of fat, and then tried to cross their reactions with dif-ferent variables, such as their age, sex, attitudes toward nutrition, what they grew up eating andwhether they could control their food urges.“But nothing was coming out of that [research] thatwas really very interesting,” she said.“It’s the kind of thing that food companies tear their hair outtrying to understand: Is there something about people’s backgrounds that pushes them in onedirection or the other about what they prefer?”

NON-TASTERS AND SUPER-TASTERSThen she learned about a colleague’s study that found that people who were really sensitive tothat bitter 6-n-propylthiouracil (or PROP, for the tongue-tied) also, for some reason, gavehigher creaminess ratings to dairy products than those who could not taste PROP.

“Maybe that’s the key,” Tepper recalled thinking about her own research. “Maybe the vari-ability is genetic. It’s biological. It’s not just something out in the air.”

PROP is nothing new. PROP sensitivity had been known as a genetic trait since it was dis-covered in the 1930s. People with the TAS2R38 genotype have receptors on their tongues thatrecognize the acrid substance.

Based on the dairy study, Tepper thought that the PROP test could tell her more than howwell people could tolerate bitterness. She started by dividing test subjects into PROP non-tasters,medium tasters and particularly sensitive “super-tasters.” (Statistically, about 25 percent of Cau-casians are non-tasters; 50 percent are medium tasters, and 25 percent are super-tasters.) Shethen gave them high- and low-fat versions of salad dressings to taste. As predicted, the non-tasters liked the high-fat dressings better.

Subsequent work by Tepper and others has pointed to a host of taste tendencies that sepa-rate tasters from non-tasters.

H Beverly J. Tepper, a super-taster,responds to the bitterness of PROP. Shehas spent years studying a genetic traitthat causes some people to taste bitter-ness while others taste none.

“We recognized that PROP tasters not onlytaste the bitterness of PROP and the bitternessof other compounds more, but they perceivesweetness more; they perceive the texturalaspects of dairy products more; they perceivehotness—like chili pepper—more,” Teppersaid. “It’s a whole range of sensory character-istics that they seem to be more sensitive to.”

How is one bitter receptor on the tongueresponsible for all these differences? One the-ory is that people who are tasters, and inparticular, super-tasters, seem to have moretaste buds. And people who have more tastebuds, it follows, may experience most tastesensations more intensely.

Perhaps because of this, super-tasters alsoseem to pick up on food nuances. When Tep-per asked study subjects to describe a range ofdairy products they tasted, the super-tastersused lots of adjectives—creamy, thick, rich,buttery, sticky, syrupy and milky. The non-tasters used just a handful of words todescribe what they ate. “They perceive some-thing different,” Tepper explained, “and theyclearly know what they like, but they have dif-ficulty describing it.”

WEIGHING INAll of which may be useful for predictingwho will grow up to be a food critic. Tepper,however, is looking for a connection thatcould have larger public health implications:How does PROP taster status affect weight?

Two years ago, Tepper found that womenin their 40s who were super-tasters were 20percent thinner than non-tasters. The super-tasters appeared to eat less overall, be it bittervegetables or fatty foods. The super-tastershad a body-mass index of 23.5; the mediumtasters had an average of 26.6, and the non-tasters nearly 30. (A BMI of 30 or above isconsidered obese.) So far, she has only seenbody-weight correlations to PROP status inwomen, not men.

But before you run out to have your PROPstatus tested, you should know that there areplenty of exceptions to these rules. Tepper isherself a super-taster. (“That little disk is sobitter to me, it blows the back of my head off,”she explained.) And yet, she likes all the foodsshe theoretically should hate. “It took me anumber of years to develop a taste for them,but I like hot food; I like briny olives; I like

anchovies; I like broccoli and Brusselssprouts,” she admitted. “After a while Ithought, ‘I don’t even support my ownhypothesis, so how is this going to work?’It’s rather obvious: It’s not just taste geneticsthat’s influencing people’s behavior and foodpreferences. There are so many other factors.And we can’t just forget about all of them.”

DARING DINERSOne significant factor is food adventurous-ness, or a willingness to try unfamiliar foods.“We decided to add just a single question toour surveys: How often do you try newfoods?” They found that super-tasters whoare not food adventurous are the ones whohate everything. As a super-taster who is alsofood adventurous, Tepper’s food preferencesmake perfect sense.

Another trump card is a person’s ability tofight food urges, called “restrained eating.”People’s self-control, particularly if they areconcerned about nutrition or their weight,seems to override taster status, so that statis-tically, it has no effect on body-mass index.So this one gene does not control weight—or

definitively determine what foods you like.Nor does it mean that super-taster childrenare destined for a vegetable-free life. Tepperrecently looked at a group of preschoolers tounderstand when these genetic differencesappear. (The results appeared this July in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition). Sheoffered the kids carrots and red pepper alongwith the more bitter cucumbers, raw broccoliand black olives (which, while not technicallyvegetables, are viewed that way by children).

The children showed clear signs of theirPROP status and food preferences at thisearly age. The non-tasters spontaneously atealmost a serving of vegetables, including moreof the bitter ones. But the taster kids were noslouches, eating almost a half-serving of veg-etables of their choosing.

“It is possible to get vegetables into kids ifyou pay some attention to their genetic pre-dispositions. What’s ultimately valuable is whatsomeone selects or doesn’t select when they aregiven a variety of choices,” Tepper said.

One question she has is whether mothers,who make most of the menu decisions athome, are offering their children vegetablesthat they may not like themselves and givingtheir children an opportunity to develop apreference for them.

Tepper, who grew up in Boston and stud-ied biology at Northeastern University, was amember of the first nutrition school class atTufts. Looking back, she is glad that she andher classmates were required to study notonly basic nutritional biochemistry, but alsothe impact of nutrition on people, includingthose in the developing world. “You reallyunderstood the interdisciplinary nature ofnutrition, and I find that is a bit lacking insome programs,” she said.

After graduating with her Ph.D. in 1986,she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at thePhiladelphia-based Monell Chemical SensesCenter, a research institute focused on tasteand smell research. Her interest in sensoryevaluation was born. When a position cameup at Rutgers for a sensory scientist in 1989,she took it.

As director of Rutgers’ Sensory Evalua-tion Laboratory, Tepper often collaborateswith food companies. “When I work withindustry, usually there is something applied init that they are interested in and something

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 98 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTOS: THOMAS E. FRANKLIN

er interest in taste genetics began around 1994 whenshe was investigating why some people enjoy high-fat foods more than others do. She asked testsubjects to rate foods with different levels of fat, and then tried to cross their reactions with dif-ferent variables, such as their age, sex, attitudes toward nutrition, what they grew up eating andwhether they could control their food urges.“But nothing was coming out of that [research] thatwas really very interesting,” she said.“It’s the kind of thing that food companies tear their hair outtrying to understand: Is there something about people’s backgrounds that pushes them in onedirection or the other about what they prefer?”

NON-TASTERS AND SUPER-TASTERSThen she learned about a colleague’s study that found that people who were really sensitive tothat bitter 6-n-propylthiouracil (or PROP, for the tongue-tied) also, for some reason, gavehigher creaminess ratings to dairy products than those who could not taste PROP.

“Maybe that’s the key,” Tepper recalled thinking about her own research. “Maybe the vari-ability is genetic. It’s biological. It’s not just something out in the air.”

PROP is nothing new. PROP sensitivity had been known as a genetic trait since it was dis-covered in the 1930s. People with the TAS2R38 genotype have receptors on their tongues thatrecognize the acrid substance.

Based on the dairy study, Tepper thought that the PROP test could tell her more than howwell people could tolerate bitterness. She started by dividing test subjects into PROP non-tasters,medium tasters and particularly sensitive “super-tasters.” (Statistically, about 25 percent of Cau-casians are non-tasters; 50 percent are medium tasters, and 25 percent are super-tasters.) Shethen gave them high- and low-fat versions of salad dressings to taste. As predicted, the non-tasters liked the high-fat dressings better.

Subsequent work by Tepper and others has pointed to a host of taste tendencies that sepa-rate tasters from non-tasters.

H Beverly J. Tepper, a super-taster,responds to the bitterness of PROP. Shehas spent years studying a genetic traitthat causes some people to taste bitter-ness while others taste none.

basic research-oriented that I’m interestedin. It’s really a marriage of the two.” She hasworked with the Linguagen Corp., a biotech-nology company that received a patent for thefirst molecular compound that blocks bittertastes in foods and drugs. In her lab—whichhas a kitchen and 11 tasting booths equippedwith computers where test participants recordtheir reactions to foods—she tested the bitterblocker in combination with black coffee,dark chocolate, white grapefruit juice andtonic water. The blocker helped blunt thebitterness of the coffee, but nothing else.

DIETS FOR DIABETICSOther tests are purely for scientific elucida-tion. Tepper has been interested in diabetesresearch since her graduate school days. Oneof her first studies was to confirm the long-held medical belief that people with type 2diabetes have an increased desire for sweets.

More recently, she has been focusing onwomen with gestational diabetes. Her studiesso far have found that pregnant women withdiabetic symptoms tend to like sweeteneddrinks, such as strawberry milk, and reportthat they consume more sweet foods in theirdiet. Tepper is interested in how pregnantwomen’s increased desire for sweet foods mayinfluence their dietary compliance. Womenwho are diagnosed with gestational diabetesusually receive the same dietary recommen-dations as those given for type 2 diabetics, butthey do not always follow those recommen-dations. In the long run, she hopes this

research will help focus nutritional recom-mendations for women with gestational dia-betes and for diabetics in general.

Most of Tepper’s students go on to work inthe food industry. “A lot of our students havebackgrounds in biology or microbiology orchemistry, and often they are students wholike science, but they can’t see the application.They come into food science, and they seechemical and biological principles being illus-trated in something they know very well,which is food, and all of a sudden, the sparkhappens, and they get very excited about it.”

Of the 22 full-time faculty who work inthe food science department at Rutgers, justtwo have backgrounds in nutrition. Mostfood scientists are concerned with the chem-ical and biological aspects of foods ratherthan the organisms that eat them. They leavethat to the nutritionists.

PARTNERING NUTRITION AND SCIENCETepper says her nutrition education givesher a special vantage point, one that con-vinces her there should be more collabora-tion between nutrition and food science

departments. “I think they should be closer,”she said. “If you have someone who under-stands the basic biology of a fat cell, andthen you have a food scientist who under-stands the physical and biological dimen-sions of putting fat into a food product, I seea lot of strength there.”

Tepper and other PROP researchers arelooking at several ways that this one geneticproclivity may affect public health. At leastone study has found that heavy smokers aresignificantly more likely to be non-tastersthan tasters, who appear more sensitive to theirritation of smoke and the bitterness of nico-tine. Similarly, tasters perceive more bitternessand irritation from ethyl alcohol, and researchhas found that tasters consume fewer alco-holic beverages per year than non-tasters.Tepper stresses that more work needs to bedone in both areas, and that if there is aPROP connection, it would only be a risk fac-tor, not a genetic mandate.

“My view is this is just another indicator asto whether a person is going to find alcoholacceptable or not,” she said. “But to concludethat this determines whether it makes theman alcoholic or not is kind of far-fetched.”

In the future, Tepper believes PROPresearch will be especially useful in the fightagainst obesity. Although there have beenhundreds of studies looking at PROP statusover the decades, only recently has it been rec-ognized for its potential influences on eatingbehavior and body weight.

To epidemiologists who study obesity,PROP status may be the new kid on theblock. But Tepper thinks it will win themover. “We have identified a lot of obesitygenes, but many of those genes are involved invery rare forms of human obesity,” Teppersaid.“Whereas here’s a phenotype that’s reallyeasy to measure, that seems to be related tobody weight.”

She is already collaborating with one sci-entist who is studying a genetically isolatedpopulation in a village in southern Italy,which, because the villagers have similargenetic backgrounds and diets, should pro-vide a clearer understanding of PROP status’relationship to diet and disease outcomes. TN

Julie Flaherty is the editor of this magazine.She can be reached at julie.flaherty@tufts.edu.

10 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: THOMAS E. FRANKLIN

How is one bitterreceptor on thetongue responsi-ble for all thesedifferences?

As director of the Sensory EvaluationLaboratory at Rutgers University, BeverlyTepper often collaborates with food compa-nies, helping test their products while further-ing her own research on taste sensitivity.

Tufts School of Nutrition 25 years ago, the school had a simple, if lofty, mission:

to improve the nutritional well-being of people throughout the world. Today, the

Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy—still

the only graduate and professional school of nutrition in North America—con-

tinues to prepare its graduates for an important global mission. n “I stepped into

an extraordinarily strong school, and we have an enormous opportunity to take

the school to the next level,” said Eileen T. Kennedy, who was appointed dean of

the Friedman School in 2004.“In 25 more years, future leaders in nutrition—not

simply in the United States, but worldwide—will be coming out of Friedman.” n

Through its interdisciplinary approach and marriage of scientific research to pol-

icy, the Friedman School now has more than 800 alumni. Whether they are pio-

neering new ways to teach nutrition, solving ecological mysteries or recruiting the

next generation of Friedman students, members of the very first class are making

their mark. Tufts Nutrition invites you to meet three of them.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 11PHOTO: MELODY KO

Catching up with three graduates of the nutrition school’sfirst class By Jacqueline Mitchell

“Nutrition is not a discipline. It is an agenda.”—Jean Mayer, former Tufts president and founder of the nutrition school

Where are they now?

The Friedman School’s humble beginningson the Medford/Somerville campus

A s an undergraduate biology major atHarvard, Sarah Ash wasn’t interestedin going to medical school. But it

wasn’t until her roommate brought home atextbook from a summer class that Ash dis-covered what she really wanted to do.

“I remember thinking that this is where itall comes together—the chemistry and thebiochemistry, the physiology and the genetics,”said Ash, N82, N86, associate professor ofnutrition in the Department of Food Scienceat North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

The textbook came from an introductorynutrition course Jean Mayer taught at theHarvard Extension School in the summer of1974. That fall, Ash’s academic advisor sug-gested she satisfy her new-found enthusiasmfor the field by cross-registering at Harvard’sSchool of Public Health. It was there thatAsh met Stanley Gershoff, also a professor atHarvard, who assigned Ash a research projecton liver enzyme metabolism. (Mayer becamepresident of Tufts in 1976, and when hedecided to found a nutrition school, hetapped Gershoff as its first dean.)

Gershoff “took me under his wing andmade a little project for me,” Ash said. “Hedidn’t have to take that time, but he made ahuge difference in my professional career.”

After working as a lab technician for sev-eral years in Virginia and Illinois, Ash even-tually wound up back in Boston. In the fall of1981, she matriculated as a member of thenutrition school’s first class. Pursuing herinterest in liver enzyme activity, she studiedthe effects of age and estrogen on vitamin Dmetabolism in rats as a researcher in the lab ofDr. Barry Goldin, a professor at Tufts’ nutri-tion and medical schools.

By the time she completed her Ph.D. in1986, she was a married mother of two. Whenher husband’s job took the family to North

Carolina, a neighbor helped her find work ina biochemistry lab at North Carolina State. Itwasn’t exactly what Ash had in mind.

Ash introduced herself to a woman whotaught the only human nutrition course oncampus and let her know of her own interestin teaching. Within six months, the instructorleft her post. Despite university officials’ initialconcerns that a graduate of Jean Mayer’sschool might be a vegetarian (the course wasoffered through the animal science depart-ment), Ash landed the lectureship.

“I established myself as a good instructorand advisor and managed to create a tenure-track position for myself as a result,” she said.“I always tell my students to make cold calls,walk up to people, knock on doors. That’sbasically how I got this job.”

Today, her research focuses on servicelearning, which gives students the opportu-nity to apply course material in communitysettings. Students are best able to meet thegoals of service learning—which include per-sonal growth and civic engagement—

through reflection on their service-relatedactivities, Ash said. But few good modelsexist to guide them.

“Service learning often puts students inunfamiliar situations with unfamiliar peo-ple,” she said,“and poor-quality reflection canreinforce the biases and preconceived notionsthat students bring to those experiences.”

Ash and a colleague are about to publish astudent tutorial and instructor’s guide basedon a framework for reflection that they havedeveloped over the past two years.

Her interests in areas outside the tradi-tional domain of nutrition can be traced toher time at Tufts, where she most appreciatedthe way the nutrition program managed tointegrate social sciences with biochemistryand physiology.

“That experience made me realize early onthat a scientist needs more than knowledge ofher discipline-specific scientific principles,”she said.“She needs to understand the contextand the broader implications of that knowl-edge to society.”

like being involved with things right fromthe beginning,” said Elizabeth CocharyGross, N82, N88. In addition to being a

member of the first nutrition school class,Cochary Gross was also the school’s firstdirector of admissions. Today, she serves asthe founding president of the FriedmanSchool Alumni Association, an organizationshe helped launch in 2003.

When Cochary Gross came to Tufts, shewas most interested in the hard science ofnutrition and completed her Ph.D. disserta-

tion on vitamin B6 and aging. But she recog-nized the significance of the required policycourses early on.

“I remember thinking how difficult itwould be to have a positive impact on peoplein other countries or even other communi-ties in the United States. It’s so important forany nutrition professional to understandscience and research as well as how to imple-ment policy.”

After several years of postdoctoral work inthe Boston area, Cochary Gross returned to

Tufts as an assistant professor of nutrition.She also chaired the school’s admissions com-mittee, an all-volunteer board at the time. Asthe school grew and the number of applicantsincreased, it was clear that a full-time admis-sions director was needed. She became direc-tor of admissions and recruitment in 1997,and held the job for seven years.

“I really enjoyed working with people andmeeting prospective students,” she said.“I wasacting as their guidance counselor, and I reallyfelt I was helping shape their lives.”Among thechallenges, she said, was helping people navi-gate the graduate school admissions process—taking the GREs, completing prerequisitesand identifying sources of financial aid.

Following the terrorist attacks of Septem-ber 11, 2001, Cochary Gross witnessed first-hand the nationwide decrease in applicationsas prospective students became more cau-tious about working abroad, and interna-tional students found it harder to obtain thenecessary visas to study in the United States.It was a trend she worked hard to reverse overthe next few years.

“Keeping the class diverse ethnically andintellectually is really important and chal-lenging,” she said, “as well as keeping thatscience/policy bridge.”

Now, in her third year as president of thealumni association, Cochary Gross, also anoverseer to the school and vice chair of theschool’s capital campaign committee, is look-ing to transform her role at Friedman yetagain. She hopes to develop new ideas forschool programs and for its fund-raisingactivities. One day, she’d like to be the firstFriedman alumna to serve as a Tufts trustee.

“It’s fun to watch the school grow. Every-thing was so small back then,” Cochary Grosssaid of her student days, recalling backyardbarbecues at Stan Gershoff ’s Medford homeand wearing hard hats in the Jean MayerUSDA Human Nutrition Research Center onAging while it was still under construction onthe Boston campus.

Today, one of her priorities is to increasecommunication among current students,prospective students and alumni. “I’m alwaysworking hard to get alums to return to theschool for a visit. It’s always fun to see peo-ple,” she said. “It would be great if everybodycame back.”

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 1312 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: STACEY HAINES PHOTO: MELODY KO

Sarah Ash:The road to unexpected places

Elizabeth Cochary Gross:Building and growing

“I

A s an undergraduate biology major atHarvard, Sarah Ash wasn’t interestedin going to medical school. But it

wasn’t until her roommate brought home atextbook from a summer class that Ash dis-covered what she really wanted to do.

“I remember thinking that this is where itall comes together—the chemistry and thebiochemistry, the physiology and the genetics,”said Ash, N82, N86, associate professor ofnutrition in the Department of Food Scienceat North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

The textbook came from an introductorynutrition course Jean Mayer taught at theHarvard Extension School in the summer of1974. That fall, Ash’s academic advisor sug-gested she satisfy her new-found enthusiasmfor the field by cross-registering at Harvard’sSchool of Public Health. It was there thatAsh met Stanley Gershoff, also a professor atHarvard, who assigned Ash a research projecton liver enzyme metabolism. (Mayer becamepresident of Tufts in 1976, and when hedecided to found a nutrition school, hetapped Gershoff as its first dean.)

Gershoff “took me under his wing andmade a little project for me,” Ash said. “Hedidn’t have to take that time, but he made ahuge difference in my professional career.”

After working as a lab technician for sev-eral years in Virginia and Illinois, Ash even-tually wound up back in Boston. In the fall of1981, she matriculated as a member of thenutrition school’s first class. Pursuing herinterest in liver enzyme activity, she studiedthe effects of age and estrogen on vitamin Dmetabolism in rats as a researcher in the lab ofDr. Barry Goldin, a professor at Tufts’ nutri-tion and medical schools.

By the time she completed her Ph.D. in1986, she was a married mother of two. Whenher husband’s job took the family to North

Carolina, a neighbor helped her find work ina biochemistry lab at North Carolina State. Itwasn’t exactly what Ash had in mind.

Ash introduced herself to a woman whotaught the only human nutrition course oncampus and let her know of her own interestin teaching. Within six months, the instructorleft her post. Despite university officials’ initialconcerns that a graduate of Jean Mayer’sschool might be a vegetarian (the course wasoffered through the animal science depart-ment), Ash landed the lectureship.

“I established myself as a good instructorand advisor and managed to create a tenure-track position for myself as a result,” she said.“I always tell my students to make cold calls,walk up to people, knock on doors. That’sbasically how I got this job.”

Today, her research focuses on servicelearning, which gives students the opportu-nity to apply course material in communitysettings. Students are best able to meet thegoals of service learning—which include per-sonal growth and civic engagement—

through reflection on their service-relatedactivities, Ash said. But few good modelsexist to guide them.

“Service learning often puts students inunfamiliar situations with unfamiliar peo-ple,” she said,“and poor-quality reflection canreinforce the biases and preconceived notionsthat students bring to those experiences.”

Ash and a colleague are about to publish astudent tutorial and instructor’s guide basedon a framework for reflection that they havedeveloped over the past two years.

Her interests in areas outside the tradi-tional domain of nutrition can be traced toher time at Tufts, where she most appreciatedthe way the nutrition program managed tointegrate social sciences with biochemistryand physiology.

“That experience made me realize early onthat a scientist needs more than knowledge ofher discipline-specific scientific principles,”she said.“She needs to understand the contextand the broader implications of that knowl-edge to society.”

like being involved with things right fromthe beginning,” said Elizabeth CocharyGross, N82, N88. In addition to being a

member of the first nutrition school class,Cochary Gross was also the school’s firstdirector of admissions. Today, she serves asthe founding president of the FriedmanSchool Alumni Association, an organizationshe helped launch in 2003.

When Cochary Gross came to Tufts, shewas most interested in the hard science ofnutrition and completed her Ph.D. disserta-

tion on vitamin B6 and aging. But she recog-nized the significance of the required policycourses early on.

“I remember thinking how difficult itwould be to have a positive impact on peoplein other countries or even other communi-ties in the United States. It’s so important forany nutrition professional to understandscience and research as well as how to imple-ment policy.”

After several years of postdoctoral work inthe Boston area, Cochary Gross returned to

Tufts as an assistant professor of nutrition.She also chaired the school’s admissions com-mittee, an all-volunteer board at the time. Asthe school grew and the number of applicantsincreased, it was clear that a full-time admis-sions director was needed. She became direc-tor of admissions and recruitment in 1997,and held the job for seven years.

“I really enjoyed working with people andmeeting prospective students,” she said.“I wasacting as their guidance counselor, and I reallyfelt I was helping shape their lives.”Among thechallenges, she said, was helping people navi-gate the graduate school admissions process—taking the GREs, completing prerequisitesand identifying sources of financial aid.

Following the terrorist attacks of Septem-ber 11, 2001, Cochary Gross witnessed first-hand the nationwide decrease in applicationsas prospective students became more cau-tious about working abroad, and interna-tional students found it harder to obtain thenecessary visas to study in the United States.It was a trend she worked hard to reverse overthe next few years.

“Keeping the class diverse ethnically andintellectually is really important and chal-lenging,” she said, “as well as keeping thatscience/policy bridge.”

Now, in her third year as president of thealumni association, Cochary Gross, also anoverseer to the school and vice chair of theschool’s capital campaign committee, is look-ing to transform her role at Friedman yetagain. She hopes to develop new ideas forschool programs and for its fund-raisingactivities. One day, she’d like to be the firstFriedman alumna to serve as a Tufts trustee.

“It’s fun to watch the school grow. Every-thing was so small back then,” Cochary Grosssaid of her student days, recalling backyardbarbecues at Stan Gershoff ’s Medford homeand wearing hard hats in the Jean MayerUSDA Human Nutrition Research Center onAging while it was still under construction onthe Boston campus.

Today, one of her priorities is to increasecommunication among current students,prospective students and alumni. “I’m alwaysworking hard to get alums to return to theschool for a visit. It’s always fun to see peo-ple,” she said. “It would be great if everybodycame back.”

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 1312 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: STACEY HAINES PHOTO: MELODY KO

Sarah Ash:The road to unexpected places

Elizabeth Cochary Gross:Building and growing

“I

W hen Panamanian officials couldn’tdetermine the cause of 21 myste-rious deaths last September, one

of the scientists they turned to was Carl Ver-don, N82, N87, of the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC). Verdon’slab, which specializes in measuring toxicmetals in human urine and blood, is one of agroup of elite emergency response laborato-ries at the CDC.

Using a method Verdon developed, one ofhis colleagues identified the toxicant as anindustrial coolant ingredient that somehowfound its way into the cough syrup each of thePanamanian victims had taken. Similarly, in2003, when 15 children were diagnosed withacute forms of leukemia in a small town inNevada, Verdon’s lab found elevated levelsof arsenic and tungsten in the urine of manyof the town’s residents.

Verdon helps run the Inorganic ToxicologyLaboratory at the CDC’s National Center forEnvironmental Health. The lab analyzes urineand blood samples for toxic and nutritionallyrelevant elements for the National Healthand Nutrition Examination Survey as part ofan extensive assessment of the U.S. popula-tion’s nutrition status and its exposure toenvironmental chemicals. Verdon specializesin developing ways to distinguish organicfrom inorganic forms of metals such asarsenic and mercury.

As a chemistry major at Occidental Col-lege in Los Angeles, Verdon became inter-ested in nutrition after reading a LinusPauling book on vitamin C. After graduating,Verdon worked at the USDA Fruit and Veg-etable Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Thelab’s director urged him to consider studyingat Tufts. That’s when serendipity intervened.Stanley Gershoff, the nutrition school dean atthe time, happened to be attending a meetingin Anaheim.

“He treated me to lunch, and he really

sold me on the program,” Verdon recalled.The cross-country move wasn’t the last timehe would need to draw on his pioneeringspirit. The members of the first class of thefledgling school were met with a number ofchallenges early on.

“Students had to take a lot of initiative…to get all the classes we wanted,” recalled Ver-don, who solved the problem by cross-regis-tering for some classes at MIT, Brandeis andother area universities. “In retrospect, thatwas a good thing. I did a lot of networking.”

As a post-doc at Harvard, he sequencedgenes “the old-fashioned way,” with elec-trophoresis gel, a magnifying glass and a padof paper.

After completing a two-year clinical chem-istry program at Hartford Hospital in Con-necticut, Verdon found himself back at Tuftsat the Human Nutrition Research Center onAging, where, as a USDA scientist, he devel-oped an assay to measure nitric oxide andcontributed to another test that measures

substances’ antioxidant potential. Known asthe ORAC (Oxidative reaction absorptivecapacity) test, nutritionists use the method tosee how well a food or ingredient protectsagainst free radicals. Many forms of cancerand some symptoms of aging are thought tobe the result of reactions between free radicalsand DNA, resulting in mutations that candisrupt the cell cycle.

The work garnered Verdon a number ofjob offers; he signed on with a small nutrientassessment company and moved his family offive to Atlanta in 1996. Three years later,when the struggling company floundered,Verdon turned to building web sites. When ajob opened up at the CDC in 2000, he was inthe right place at the right time. “I have thisbootstrap mentality, and I give a lot of creditto my early education for that.” TN

Jacqueline Mitchell is a senior health scienceswriter in Tufts’ Office of Publications. She canbe reached at jacqueline.mitchell@tufts.edu.

14 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: CDC

Carl Verdon:Right place,right time

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 15

I

Down at the station, candy corn no longer qualifies as a vegetable

rown rice or butternut squash inan orange glaze are not typical fare at a firestation. Firefighters like their meat. “We’lleat until it’s gone, and we eat it quick, too,”Somerville firefighter Jay Colbert said,“because a lot of times, you may find yourselfrunning out in the middle of a meal for acall.” Or, in this case, in the middle of ahealthy cooking class.

During a nutrition workshop that ClaireKozower, N01, ran at one Somerville fire sta-tion, a series of urgent beeps meant the fire-fighters spooning yogurt and fruit into cupsand dicing tomatoes suddenly raced out thedoor. Thirty minutes later, they quietly reap-peared and picked up where they left off.

Life is like that at the station. One minuteyou’re sitting around. The next, you’re racingup a flight of stairs lugging 100 pounds ofequipment.

To help firefighters prepare to gofrom the sedentary to the swift, theCity of Somerville and its fire depart-ment received a $228,000 grant fromthe Department of Homeland Securityto improve the health and wellness offirefighters. Impressed by Shape UpSomerville, an obesity-prevention pro-gram the Friedman School ran in thecity’s public schools from 2002 to 2005,the fire department asked the nutritionschool to step in once again.

The Somerville Firefighters Well-being Program began last spring,when more than 100 firefighters, dis-patchers and administrators learnedhow to exercise on new equipment boughtwith the federal grant. Dozens also partici-pated in nutrition workshops and cookingclasses. Shape Up Somerville creator ChristinaEconomos, N96, holder of the New BalanceChair in Childhood Nutrition, and SarahCluggish, J94, associate director of the Chil-dren in Balance anti-obesity initiative, areshepherding the well-being program.

Because firefighters work 24-hour shifts,they cook and eat together—often going forthe fast and the fattening. At one workshop,Deputy Chief Jim Lucia and his men focusedon vegetables—with a side order of teasing. Adozen firefighters sat around two long tables.On the walls were charts describing the nutri-tional value of fruits and vegetables.

“How many of you eat the recommendedamount?” asked Kozower. One man raised hishand. But his co-worker insisted otherwise:“Bud Light is not a vegetable.”

Asked another, “Can you get a serving offruit from apple pie?” Told that he could, hispal said,“Then he’s had three servings today.”

But when it got to a discussion of how toeat better, things got serious.“More and moreevidence comes out every day that it’s impor-tant to eat fruits and vegetables,” Kozowersaid. “I hope you walk away today motivatedto incorporate more into your diet.”

Kozower handed out recipes for a hum-mus-like dip made with tomatoes, nuts andgarlic; roasted carrots and broccoli; chili withbeans, corn and ground turkey; and yogurt

and fruit parfaits for dessert. The firefightersgot to work, and the room turned into a blurof chopping, simmering, dicing and laughter.Buster Siciliano expertly tossed vegetables ina sauté pan. He wasn’t worried that Kozowerbrought enough food for 30 firefighters, and

it turned out there were only 15 in the group.“You’ve got to cook for 30 to feed 15 at a firestation,” he explained.

The first part of the well-being programwas an initial assessment of the firefighters’height and weight. They also took fitnesstests to measure their strength and endurance.“Their number one concern is to be able torespond to any call that comes in,” said FranciOtting, A03, a certified strength-and-condi-tioning coach who is the liaison between theFriedman School and the firefighters. “Theaverage firefighter has been on the job a num-ber of years. Aging affects all of us,” Ottingsaid.“The goal is not to force change on any-body, but to make the change easy to reachout for.”

In addition to Kozower’s workshop, fire-fighters heard from Friedman faculty abouthealthy eating, learned to use knives properlyand figured out how to order a healthy mealfrom a take-out menu. Guy Koppe, N03, whoworks for Project Bread and is a chef atGourmet Caterers in Roslindale, Mass.,showed the firefighters how to take one maindish and create a variety of menus by pairingit with six different side dishes, each of whichcould be served with a lemon-and-thyme-roasted chicken for a different meal.

“The meat is really the center of the platewhen they cook,” Koppe said, “and they mayor may not have vegetables with it. So I triedto shift the emphasis from meat taking upmost of the plate. We made a salad, too, andthey were excited to make a vinaigrette ontheir own.”

Colbert is president of Local 76 of theInternational Association of Firefighters,which was instrumental in bringing the pro-gram to Somerville with the support of ChiefKevin Kelleher.“The combination of physicalfitness knowledge and nutrition knowledgehas been invaluable,” he said.

Back at the turkey chili dinner, Kozowerasked the firefighters what their favorite fruitsand vegetables are.

“Candy corn,” one replied.“Caramel apples,” said another.The group laughed and dug into dinner. TN

Marjorie Howard is a senior writer in Tufts’Office of Publications. She can be reached atmarjorie.howard@tufts.edu.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 1716 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

Clockwise from top left: Mark Wall Sr. and DeputyChief Jim Lucia. Slicing and dicing, StephenLongo, Capt. James Doheney and Lt. Mark Wall Jr.Making dessert parfaits is Dave Alfano.

“How many of you eat the recommendedamount?”askedKozower. One manraised his hand. Buthis co-worker insisted otherwise:“Bud Lightis not a vegetable.”

b

rown rice or butternut squash inan orange glaze are not typical fare at a firestation. Firefighters like their meat. “We’lleat until it’s gone, and we eat it quick, too,”Somerville firefighter Jay Colbert said,“because a lot of times, you may find yourselfrunning out in the middle of a meal for acall.” Or, in this case, in the middle of ahealthy cooking class.

During a nutrition workshop that ClaireKozower, N01, ran at one Somerville fire sta-tion, a series of urgent beeps meant the fire-fighters spooning yogurt and fruit into cupsand dicing tomatoes suddenly raced out thedoor. Thirty minutes later, they quietly reap-peared and picked up where they left off.

Life is like that at the station. One minuteyou’re sitting around. The next, you’re racingup a flight of stairs lugging 100 pounds ofequipment.

To help firefighters prepare to gofrom the sedentary to the swift, theCity of Somerville and its fire depart-ment received a $228,000 grant fromthe Department of Homeland Securityto improve the health and wellness offirefighters. Impressed by Shape UpSomerville, an obesity-prevention pro-gram the Friedman School ran in thecity’s public schools from 2002 to 2005,the fire department asked the nutritionschool to step in once again.

The Somerville Firefighters Well-being Program began last spring,when more than 100 firefighters, dis-patchers and administrators learnedhow to exercise on new equipment boughtwith the federal grant. Dozens also partici-pated in nutrition workshops and cookingclasses. Shape Up Somerville creator ChristinaEconomos, N96, holder of the New BalanceChair in Childhood Nutrition, and SarahCluggish, J94, associate director of the Chil-dren in Balance anti-obesity initiative, areshepherding the well-being program.

Because firefighters work 24-hour shifts,they cook and eat together—often going forthe fast and the fattening. At one workshop,Deputy Chief Jim Lucia and his men focusedon vegetables—with a side order of teasing. Adozen firefighters sat around two long tables.On the walls were charts describing the nutri-tional value of fruits and vegetables.

“How many of you eat the recommendedamount?” asked Kozower. One man raised hishand. But his co-worker insisted otherwise:“Bud Light is not a vegetable.”

Asked another, “Can you get a serving offruit from apple pie?” Told that he could, hispal said,“Then he’s had three servings today.”

But when it got to a discussion of how toeat better, things got serious.“More and moreevidence comes out every day that it’s impor-tant to eat fruits and vegetables,” Kozowersaid. “I hope you walk away today motivatedto incorporate more into your diet.”

Kozower handed out recipes for a hum-mus-like dip made with tomatoes, nuts andgarlic; roasted carrots and broccoli; chili withbeans, corn and ground turkey; and yogurt

and fruit parfaits for dessert. The firefightersgot to work, and the room turned into a blurof chopping, simmering, dicing and laughter.Buster Siciliano expertly tossed vegetables ina sauté pan. He wasn’t worried that Kozowerbrought enough food for 30 firefighters, and

it turned out there were only 15 in the group.“You’ve got to cook for 30 to feed 15 at a firestation,” he explained.

The first part of the well-being programwas an initial assessment of the firefighters’height and weight. They also took fitnesstests to measure their strength and endurance.“Their number one concern is to be able torespond to any call that comes in,” said FranciOtting, A03, a certified strength-and-condi-tioning coach who is the liaison between theFriedman School and the firefighters. “Theaverage firefighter has been on the job a num-ber of years. Aging affects all of us,” Ottingsaid.“The goal is not to force change on any-body, but to make the change easy to reachout for.”

In addition to Kozower’s workshop, fire-fighters heard from Friedman faculty abouthealthy eating, learned to use knives properlyand figured out how to order a healthy mealfrom a take-out menu. Guy Koppe, N03, whoworks for Project Bread and is a chef atGourmet Caterers in Roslindale, Mass.,showed the firefighters how to take one maindish and create a variety of menus by pairingit with six different side dishes, each of whichcould be served with a lemon-and-thyme-roasted chicken for a different meal.

“The meat is really the center of the platewhen they cook,” Koppe said, “and they mayor may not have vegetables with it. So I triedto shift the emphasis from meat taking upmost of the plate. We made a salad, too, andthey were excited to make a vinaigrette ontheir own.”

Colbert is president of Local 76 of theInternational Association of Firefighters,which was instrumental in bringing the pro-gram to Somerville with the support of ChiefKevin Kelleher.“The combination of physicalfitness knowledge and nutrition knowledgehas been invaluable,” he said.

Back at the turkey chili dinner, Kozowerasked the firefighters what their favorite fruitsand vegetables are.

“Candy corn,” one replied.“Caramel apples,” said another.The group laughed and dug into dinner. TN

Marjorie Howard is a senior writer in Tufts’Office of Publications. She can be reached atmarjorie.howard@tufts.edu.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 1716 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

Clockwise from top left: Mark Wall Sr. and DeputyChief Jim Lucia. Slicing and dicing, StephenLongo, Capt. James Doheney and Lt. Mark Wall Jr.Making dessert parfaits is Dave Alfano.

“How many of you eat the recommendedamount?”askedKozower. One manraised his hand. Buthis co-worker insisted otherwise:“Bud Lightis not a vegetable.”

b

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 19

I

Are we guilt-tripping new mothers without giving themenough support to encourage

breastfeeding?

banning

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 19

I

Are we guilt-tripping new mothers without giving themenough support to encourage

breastfeeding?

banning

, .. ,

alarmed by the number of infants who got sick—or worse—from

drinking contaminated cow’s milk, sought to encourage new mothers

to breastfeed. n Fast-forward almost 100 years. n “You wouldn’t take

risks before your baby is born. Why start after? Breastfeed exclusively

for six months.” So trumpets a TV spot that shows two very pregnant

women competing in a log-rolling contest. That’s the message in 2006, as

public health officials once again attempt to increase breastfeeding rates. n

At a time when tainted milk is no longer a significant hazard in the United

States, the current effort to promote breastfeeding is more complex—and

controversial—than the campaign of a century ago. A small army of data

exists to support the nutritional and health benefits of breast milk. But

whether this means formula-fed babies are being put at risk is debatable.

ing many of its known benefits cannot besynthesized in a laboratory.

“No one has ever figured out how to imi-tate the real thing totally,” Goldberg said.“The nutrient composition of breast milk isnot stable. It changes from day to day, over thecourse of a day and even over the course ofone feeding.”

“The science on breast milk is fascinat-ing,” said Kristy Hendricks, an associateprofessor at the Friedman School and theSchool of Medicine. “Breast milk has manycomponents that are unique to a growinghuman infant.”

For instance, breast milk includes enzymesthat aid in digestion and active transportmechanisms that help some nutrients crossinto an infant’s intestine. Infants don’t havethe capacity to digest and absorb fat com-pletely, so these extra enzymes in breast milkhelp with the absorption of fat, Hendrickssaid. Components in breast milk also helpbabies absorb iron and zinc, two importantelements that support growth and develop-ment in early infancy, she said.

WHAT ABOUT FORMULA?“Many of the things in breast milk cannot bereplicated in formula,” Hendricks said. Yet, shesaid, infants in the United States face no nutri-tional dangers if they are fed an iron-fortified,FDA-approved formula instead of breast milk.

“From a strictly nutritional point of view, inthe United States, where access to clean water isnot a problem and where kids get immunized,it is not a life-or-death situation as it is insome developing countries,” she said. “For-mula is safe, and children grow normally on it.”

As scientific knowledge about breast milkhas evolved, so have formulas. Formula mak-ers used to use primarily polyunsaturatedfat, Hendricks said. But as research has shownthat human breast milk has a high proportionof the fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, for-mula companies have started adding them totheir products.

Formula feeding for infants gained afoothold in the United States in the late 19thcentury. The first obvious substitute for humanmilk was cow’s milk, yet before mandatorypasteurization and widespread refrigeration,the result was great numbers of children whodied of diarrhea and infectious diseases fromdrinking impure milk. Hence, public healthadvocates in the early 20th century tried to pro-mote breastfeeding and worked to create asafer commercial milk supply.

Eventually, home-prepared formulas usingevaporated milk, factory-made formulas andpowdered-milk formulas presented saferalternatives to cow’s milk. In the 1920s, forexample, Henry Bowditch, a pediatrician atBoston’s Floating Hospital, helped develop anearly version of the formula Similac.

Breastfeeding rates in the United Statesreached an all-time low in the early 1970s, andthen began to rise, spurred by culturalchanges, the availability of breast pumps(which allowed women, especially those in theworkforce, to spend time away from theirbabies and still nurse) and the appearance ofmore information about breastfeeding’shealth advantages.

“For quite some time, the research onbreast milk slowed,” Hendricks said. Theresearch resumed when doctors and scientistsbegan to notice that low-weight, pre-terminfants tended to do better on breast milkthan on formula, she said. “They started to

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 2120 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A 1938 poster promoting breastfeeding that was commissioned by the federal Works ProjectAdministration

“To lessen baby deaths, letus have more mother-fedbabies. You can’t improveon God’s plan.”

BORN TO BE BREASTFEDThe U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices (HHS) launched its “Babies WereBorn to Be Breastfed” campaign in 2004. Thetwo-year effort was designed to help the coun-try meet its goals for Healthy People 2010, a setof national health and nutrition objectives.

The 2010 goals call for 75 percent of moth-ers to initiate breastfeeding, and for 50 percentto breastfeed exclusively—meaning no sup-plemental formula or other food and bever-ages, including juices and water—for the firstsix months of an infant’s life. At the start of thenational campaign, U.S. rates for breastfeedingwere 69 percent at birth and 33 percent at sixmonths postpartum, according to the HHS.(Other national statistics place the exclusivesix-month rate lower, at anywhere from 14percent to 25 percent).

The HHS goals fall squarely within currentmedical recommendations. The AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendsexclusive breastfeeding for six months andurges women to continue breastfeeding untiltheir children are at least a year old, or longer.

“Human milk [is] uniquely superior forinfant feeding,” says the AAP’s 2005 policystatement on the issue, and that stance isechoed by many other medical associationsand the American Dietetic Association.

Research throughout the world has shownthat breastfeeding decreases the incidence ofmany infectious diseases in infants, includingdiarrhea, otitis media (ear infections), respi-ratory tract infections and urinary tract infec-tions. There are also documented healthbenefits of breastfeeding for mothers, includ-ing a more rapid recovery from childbirth,quicker postpartum weight loss anddecreased risk of premenopausal breast andovarian cancers.

Other studies suggest that breastfeedingmay help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syn-drome during the first year of life and reducethe risk of diabetes, lymphoma, leukemia,Hodgkin’s disease, obesity, high cholesteroland asthma as children grow into adulthood,although the AAP and other scientists notethat more research is needed in these areas.

Exactly how breast milk performs itsmagic remains somewhat of a mystery. “Weabsolutely do not understand all the thingsthat are in human milk,” said Goldberg, not-

The issue of breastfeeding in 21st-centuryAmerica is filled with contradictions. The fed-eral government is waging a pro-breastfeedingcampaign. However, most states do not havelaws that guarantee lactating women a timeand place to express milk at work. Medicalauthorities endorse the superiority of breastmilk, but most hospitals distribute free formula to new mothers. It’s a difficult mix ofscience, economics, public policy and culture.

“I am absolutely, unequivocally supportiveof doing everything we possibly can to pro-mote breastfeeding in women who can do it,”said Jeanne P. Goldberg, G59, N86, a profes-sor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Sci-ence and Policy. At the same time, “in theUnited States, where not as much hangsnutritionally on breastfeeding or not breast-feeding … I think that in talking about therisks of not breastfeeding, one really has toconsider the lives of the women they’re talk-ing to,” she noted.

, .. ,

alarmed by the number of infants who got sick—or worse—from

drinking contaminated cow’s milk, sought to encourage new mothers

to breastfeed. n Fast-forward almost 100 years. n “You wouldn’t take

risks before your baby is born. Why start after? Breastfeed exclusively

for six months.” So trumpets a TV spot that shows two very pregnant

women competing in a log-rolling contest. That’s the message in 2006, as

public health officials once again attempt to increase breastfeeding rates. n

At a time when tainted milk is no longer a significant hazard in the United

States, the current effort to promote breastfeeding is more complex—and

controversial—than the campaign of a century ago. A small army of data

exists to support the nutritional and health benefits of breast milk. But

whether this means formula-fed babies are being put at risk is debatable.

ing many of its known benefits cannot besynthesized in a laboratory.

“No one has ever figured out how to imi-tate the real thing totally,” Goldberg said.“The nutrient composition of breast milk isnot stable. It changes from day to day, over thecourse of a day and even over the course ofone feeding.”

“The science on breast milk is fascinat-ing,” said Kristy Hendricks, an associateprofessor at the Friedman School and theSchool of Medicine. “Breast milk has manycomponents that are unique to a growinghuman infant.”

For instance, breast milk includes enzymesthat aid in digestion and active transportmechanisms that help some nutrients crossinto an infant’s intestine. Infants don’t havethe capacity to digest and absorb fat com-pletely, so these extra enzymes in breast milkhelp with the absorption of fat, Hendrickssaid. Components in breast milk also helpbabies absorb iron and zinc, two importantelements that support growth and develop-ment in early infancy, she said.

WHAT ABOUT FORMULA?“Many of the things in breast milk cannot bereplicated in formula,” Hendricks said. Yet, shesaid, infants in the United States face no nutri-tional dangers if they are fed an iron-fortified,FDA-approved formula instead of breast milk.

“From a strictly nutritional point of view, inthe United States, where access to clean water isnot a problem and where kids get immunized,it is not a life-or-death situation as it is insome developing countries,” she said. “For-mula is safe, and children grow normally on it.”

As scientific knowledge about breast milkhas evolved, so have formulas. Formula mak-ers used to use primarily polyunsaturatedfat, Hendricks said. But as research has shownthat human breast milk has a high proportionof the fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, for-mula companies have started adding them totheir products.

Formula feeding for infants gained afoothold in the United States in the late 19thcentury. The first obvious substitute for humanmilk was cow’s milk, yet before mandatorypasteurization and widespread refrigeration,the result was great numbers of children whodied of diarrhea and infectious diseases fromdrinking impure milk. Hence, public healthadvocates in the early 20th century tried to pro-mote breastfeeding and worked to create asafer commercial milk supply.

Eventually, home-prepared formulas usingevaporated milk, factory-made formulas andpowdered-milk formulas presented saferalternatives to cow’s milk. In the 1920s, forexample, Henry Bowditch, a pediatrician atBoston’s Floating Hospital, helped develop anearly version of the formula Similac.

Breastfeeding rates in the United Statesreached an all-time low in the early 1970s, andthen began to rise, spurred by culturalchanges, the availability of breast pumps(which allowed women, especially those in theworkforce, to spend time away from theirbabies and still nurse) and the appearance ofmore information about breastfeeding’shealth advantages.

“For quite some time, the research onbreast milk slowed,” Hendricks said. Theresearch resumed when doctors and scientistsbegan to notice that low-weight, pre-terminfants tended to do better on breast milkthan on formula, she said. “They started to

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 2120 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A 1938 poster promoting breastfeeding that was commissioned by the federal Works ProjectAdministration

“To lessen baby deaths, letus have more mother-fedbabies. You can’t improveon God’s plan.”

BORN TO BE BREASTFEDThe U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices (HHS) launched its “Babies WereBorn to Be Breastfed” campaign in 2004. Thetwo-year effort was designed to help the coun-try meet its goals for Healthy People 2010, a setof national health and nutrition objectives.

The 2010 goals call for 75 percent of moth-ers to initiate breastfeeding, and for 50 percentto breastfeed exclusively—meaning no sup-plemental formula or other food and bever-ages, including juices and water—for the firstsix months of an infant’s life. At the start of thenational campaign, U.S. rates for breastfeedingwere 69 percent at birth and 33 percent at sixmonths postpartum, according to the HHS.(Other national statistics place the exclusivesix-month rate lower, at anywhere from 14percent to 25 percent).

The HHS goals fall squarely within currentmedical recommendations. The AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendsexclusive breastfeeding for six months andurges women to continue breastfeeding untiltheir children are at least a year old, or longer.

“Human milk [is] uniquely superior forinfant feeding,” says the AAP’s 2005 policystatement on the issue, and that stance isechoed by many other medical associationsand the American Dietetic Association.

Research throughout the world has shownthat breastfeeding decreases the incidence ofmany infectious diseases in infants, includingdiarrhea, otitis media (ear infections), respi-ratory tract infections and urinary tract infec-tions. There are also documented healthbenefits of breastfeeding for mothers, includ-ing a more rapid recovery from childbirth,quicker postpartum weight loss anddecreased risk of premenopausal breast andovarian cancers.

Other studies suggest that breastfeedingmay help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syn-drome during the first year of life and reducethe risk of diabetes, lymphoma, leukemia,Hodgkin’s disease, obesity, high cholesteroland asthma as children grow into adulthood,although the AAP and other scientists notethat more research is needed in these areas.

Exactly how breast milk performs itsmagic remains somewhat of a mystery. “Weabsolutely do not understand all the thingsthat are in human milk,” said Goldberg, not-

The issue of breastfeeding in 21st-centuryAmerica is filled with contradictions. The fed-eral government is waging a pro-breastfeedingcampaign. However, most states do not havelaws that guarantee lactating women a timeand place to express milk at work. Medicalauthorities endorse the superiority of breastmilk, but most hospitals distribute free formula to new mothers. It’s a difficult mix ofscience, economics, public policy and culture.

“I am absolutely, unequivocally supportiveof doing everything we possibly can to pro-mote breastfeeding in women who can do it,”said Jeanne P. Goldberg, G59, N86, a profes-sor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Sci-ence and Policy. At the same time, “in theUnited States, where not as much hangsnutritionally on breastfeeding or not breast-feeding … I think that in talking about therisks of not breastfeeding, one really has toconsider the lives of the women they’re talk-ing to,” she noted.

look at breast milk and see that it’s not justprotein, carbohydrate and fat. A whole litera-ture evolved … and [researchers] becameintrigued with the uniqueness of breast milk.”

SENDING THE MESSAGEBy the time HHS started its “Born to BeBreastfed” promotion, many advantages ofbreastfeeding were well-established amongresearchers and public health experts. Most ofthe HHS campaign included fairly predictablematerials: soft-focus images of mothers cud-dling blissfully with their nursing infants;print ads touting the health benefits of breast-feeding. It was fairly unremarkable from anutrition communications standpoint.

That is until two TV ads aired last spring—the pregnant-women-rolling-the-log spot and

a similar one in which a pregnant womanwas shown riding a mechanical bull—bothwith the taglines that associated failure tobreastfeed with risking a baby’s well-being.

In the eyes of some nutrition professionals,those ads—which equated not breastfeedingwith engaging in irresponsible behavior—

missed the mark and gave the campaign acredibility problem.

“Before we hang a guilt trip on women, weneed to make sure the environment to sup-port [breastfeeding] is in place,” said Gold-berg, director of the Friedman School’s Centeron Nutrition Communication.“In the best ofall possible worlds, women should be sup-ported to breastfeed if they can, absolutely.But the gaps in the system make me uncom-fortable with saying, ‘If you don’t do this,you’re not doing the best for your child.’ ”

“I wouldn’t, myself, pursue a threat messagethat mothers are going to harm their babies byusing formula,” said Parke Wilde, an assistantprofessor at the Friedman School who teachesa course on U.S. food policy.“I tend to focus onthe value of upbeat messages, portraying the

preferred way of taking care of a child—whether it’s breastfeeding or some other nutri-tion issue—in a wholesome, enjoyable way.”

“What we need are targeted campaigns,and we need the campaigns to talk towomen about issues that are real for them,”Goldberg said.

Data show that mothers who breastfeed arelikely to be older, wealthier and better-edu-cated than those who don’t. So campaignsthat promote breastfeeding would be well-served to target specific audiences, including

very young mothers or African-Americanwomen, who have significantly lower breast-feeding rates than white or Latina women.

Hendricks says men need breastfeedingeducation, too.

“Data show that help from a partner isimportant in the mother’s decision to breast-feed,” she said. In America, the past few gen-erations have been primarily bottle-fed, “sonot only do young women not know how [tobreastfeed], but men may not understandthe importance and positive aspects, not hav-ing grown up with it.”

GAPS IN THE SYSTEM“Also, it’s not just giving women knowledgeto make a choice, but once they’ve made adecision, supporting them in that choice,”

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 2322 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: SARAH ARKIN ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A LIFE–OR–DEATH DECISION

IN SOME PARTS OF BRAZIL, THE WAY A MAN DEMONSTRATES HIS RESPONSIBILITY

to the mother of his child is to give her a tin of infant formula. If themother prepares the formula using the local water—swarming withcontaminants—it’s quite possibly a death sentence for her baby.

But if a mother instead decides to breastfeed her baby, it repre-sents a symbolic rejection of the father. So mothers continue to formula-feed, and infants continue to get sick, and sometimes die.

“Providing formula is seen as the modern, responsible thing to do”in many developing countries, said F. James Levinson, director of theInternational Food and Nutrition Center at the Friedman School.

Similar versions of the Brazilian scenario have been playing out indeveloping nations for decades. While women in the West face moresubtle challenges in making the decision to breast- or bottle-feed, forwomen in places with questionable water supplies, that decision canliterally be a life-or-death one.

So in countries where formula has gained a foothold—and its pres-ence throughout the globe is substantial (the United Nations reportsthat about two-thirds of all infants born in developing nations receivefood other than breast milk)—nutrition experts have the task of con-vincing mothers that breastfeeding offers their children long-termhealth advantages and immediate life-saving benefits. The WorldHealth Organization (WHO), in its new set of Child Growth Standardsissued in April 2006, refers to breastfeeding as the “optimal sourceof nutrition during infancy.”

This is true even in the case of HIV-positive mothers, Levinson said.The dilemma in this case is that breastfeeding poses the risk of trans-mitting the virus from mother to baby. But given the huge benefits asso-ciated with breastfeeding and the problems associated with infantformula, that risk of mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus

through breastfeeding may be the lesser danger. “The issue becamevery much complicated with the onset of HIV,” Levinson said. “Whilethere is some possibility of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, there isalso the serious risk of children dying of diarrhea and infections fromunclean water used to prepare formula.” Diarrhea is the main killer ofchildren worldwide, with 2 million children dying from it every year.

In much of sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of people have noaccess to safe drinking water. “And in countries in Africa where HIV ismost serious, the water supply available to much of the population isstill unsafe. So you can see why we get so concerned about this,”Levinson said.

“The infant formula manufacturers have taken—let’s say exploited—this fear about HIV, despite the fact that the latest scientific wisdom isthat in countries with high HIV prevalence—and serious risk of diarrheaand infection—the very best recommendation is exclusive breastfeedingfor [the first] six months, followed by a complete switchover to solidfoods, with no mixed feeding in between,” Levinson said.

There are other factors that work against breastfeeding that takevarious forms in various places: a belief that breastfeeding will makefor saggy breasts and ruin a woman’s figure or the idea that formulais more “modern” or nutritionally better than breast milk. Or, similar tothe situation in the United States, jobs outside the home makebreastfeeding difficult or impossible for many mothers.

In Ghana, for example, “it is difficult to get women to stay homeand breastfeed, because they are working mothers, and their jobs aretaking them away from the baby,” said Akoto Osei, a Ph.D. student infood policy at the Friedman School who is from Ghana and has workedin international maternal-child nutrition programs. “We need creativeprograms to help working mothers with breastfeeding, because that’sone more challenge.”

Another danger in developing countries is the practice of diluting

formula to make it last longer. That economic practice not only com-promises the nutritional status of the baby, but also can result in poortooth development, said Carole Palmer, a nutritionist with the Schoolof Dental Medicine and the Friedman School.

“If the baby is not getting the nutrients it needs while teeth aredeveloping prior to eruption, they are more susceptible to decay whenthey erupt,” Palmer said. Once a baby teethes, she said, the teethbecome susceptible to early childhood caries. This kind of tooth decaycan result when formula (or any other sugar-containing liquid) washesover newly erupted teeth or pools in an infant’s mouth over prolongedperiods of time. “It used to be called baby-bottle syndrome, or nursingsyndrome,” Palmer said, but the term has been broadened toacknowledge the implication of any sweetened beverage that issipped consistently over time.

International agencies, including WHO and UNICEF, have beenworking for several decades to promote breastfeeding and limit theinfluence of formula manufacturers. In 1981, WHO adopted its“International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes,” whichasks nations worldwide to restrict infant formula advertising and pro-motions. In 1991, WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-FriendlyHospital Initiative, in which medical facilities that provide breastfeed-ing support for new mothers become certified. This includes notaccepting free or low-cost formula or feeding supplies.

The international code “has been hugely important, and that wegot an international code and legislation in many countries controllingmarketing of breast-milk substitutes long before we got similar restric-tions on tobacco marketing was a major achievement,” said MichaelC. Latham of Cornell University, a longtime researcher on the benefitsof breastfeeding. “I have no doubt that there would be far lower preva-lence rates of breastfeeding worldwide if we did not have the code.”

—Helene Ragovin

“I wouldn’t, myself,pursue a threatmessage thatmothers are goingto harm theirbabies by usingformula.”—Parke Wilde

This poster, created by artist Erik HansKrause in 1939, was one in a series theNew York Department of Health andWelfare used to educate mothers aboutcleanliness, breastfeeding and properchild care.

A Congolese woman breastfeeds her infants. In the developing world,where water supplies are often tainted, feeding babies formula can be adeath sentence for the child.

look at breast milk and see that it’s not justprotein, carbohydrate and fat. A whole litera-ture evolved … and [researchers] becameintrigued with the uniqueness of breast milk.”

SENDING THE MESSAGEBy the time HHS started its “Born to BeBreastfed” promotion, many advantages ofbreastfeeding were well-established amongresearchers and public health experts. Most ofthe HHS campaign included fairly predictablematerials: soft-focus images of mothers cud-dling blissfully with their nursing infants;print ads touting the health benefits of breast-feeding. It was fairly unremarkable from anutrition communications standpoint.

That is until two TV ads aired last spring—the pregnant-women-rolling-the-log spot and

a similar one in which a pregnant womanwas shown riding a mechanical bull—bothwith the taglines that associated failure tobreastfeed with risking a baby’s well-being.

In the eyes of some nutrition professionals,those ads—which equated not breastfeedingwith engaging in irresponsible behavior—

missed the mark and gave the campaign acredibility problem.

“Before we hang a guilt trip on women, weneed to make sure the environment to sup-port [breastfeeding] is in place,” said Gold-berg, director of the Friedman School’s Centeron Nutrition Communication.“In the best ofall possible worlds, women should be sup-ported to breastfeed if they can, absolutely.But the gaps in the system make me uncom-fortable with saying, ‘If you don’t do this,you’re not doing the best for your child.’ ”

“I wouldn’t, myself, pursue a threat messagethat mothers are going to harm their babies byusing formula,” said Parke Wilde, an assistantprofessor at the Friedman School who teachesa course on U.S. food policy.“I tend to focus onthe value of upbeat messages, portraying the

preferred way of taking care of a child—whether it’s breastfeeding or some other nutri-tion issue—in a wholesome, enjoyable way.”

“What we need are targeted campaigns,and we need the campaigns to talk towomen about issues that are real for them,”Goldberg said.

Data show that mothers who breastfeed arelikely to be older, wealthier and better-edu-cated than those who don’t. So campaignsthat promote breastfeeding would be well-served to target specific audiences, including

very young mothers or African-Americanwomen, who have significantly lower breast-feeding rates than white or Latina women.

Hendricks says men need breastfeedingeducation, too.

“Data show that help from a partner isimportant in the mother’s decision to breast-feed,” she said. In America, the past few gen-erations have been primarily bottle-fed, “sonot only do young women not know how [tobreastfeed], but men may not understandthe importance and positive aspects, not hav-ing grown up with it.”

GAPS IN THE SYSTEM“Also, it’s not just giving women knowledgeto make a choice, but once they’ve made adecision, supporting them in that choice,”

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 2322 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: SARAH ARKIN ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A LIFE–OR–DEATH DECISION

IN SOME PARTS OF BRAZIL, THE WAY A MAN DEMONSTRATES HIS RESPONSIBILITY

to the mother of his child is to give her a tin of infant formula. If themother prepares the formula using the local water—swarming withcontaminants—it’s quite possibly a death sentence for her baby.

But if a mother instead decides to breastfeed her baby, it repre-sents a symbolic rejection of the father. So mothers continue to formula-feed, and infants continue to get sick, and sometimes die.

“Providing formula is seen as the modern, responsible thing to do”in many developing countries, said F. James Levinson, director of theInternational Food and Nutrition Center at the Friedman School.

Similar versions of the Brazilian scenario have been playing out indeveloping nations for decades. While women in the West face moresubtle challenges in making the decision to breast- or bottle-feed, forwomen in places with questionable water supplies, that decision canliterally be a life-or-death one.

So in countries where formula has gained a foothold—and its pres-ence throughout the globe is substantial (the United Nations reportsthat about two-thirds of all infants born in developing nations receivefood other than breast milk)—nutrition experts have the task of con-vincing mothers that breastfeeding offers their children long-termhealth advantages and immediate life-saving benefits. The WorldHealth Organization (WHO), in its new set of Child Growth Standardsissued in April 2006, refers to breastfeeding as the “optimal sourceof nutrition during infancy.”

This is true even in the case of HIV-positive mothers, Levinson said.The dilemma in this case is that breastfeeding poses the risk of trans-mitting the virus from mother to baby. But given the huge benefits asso-ciated with breastfeeding and the problems associated with infantformula, that risk of mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus

through breastfeeding may be the lesser danger. “The issue becamevery much complicated with the onset of HIV,” Levinson said. “Whilethere is some possibility of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, there isalso the serious risk of children dying of diarrhea and infections fromunclean water used to prepare formula.” Diarrhea is the main killer ofchildren worldwide, with 2 million children dying from it every year.

In much of sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of people have noaccess to safe drinking water. “And in countries in Africa where HIV ismost serious, the water supply available to much of the population isstill unsafe. So you can see why we get so concerned about this,”Levinson said.

“The infant formula manufacturers have taken—let’s say exploited—this fear about HIV, despite the fact that the latest scientific wisdom isthat in countries with high HIV prevalence—and serious risk of diarrheaand infection—the very best recommendation is exclusive breastfeedingfor [the first] six months, followed by a complete switchover to solidfoods, with no mixed feeding in between,” Levinson said.

There are other factors that work against breastfeeding that takevarious forms in various places: a belief that breastfeeding will makefor saggy breasts and ruin a woman’s figure or the idea that formulais more “modern” or nutritionally better than breast milk. Or, similar tothe situation in the United States, jobs outside the home makebreastfeeding difficult or impossible for many mothers.

In Ghana, for example, “it is difficult to get women to stay homeand breastfeed, because they are working mothers, and their jobs aretaking them away from the baby,” said Akoto Osei, a Ph.D. student infood policy at the Friedman School who is from Ghana and has workedin international maternal-child nutrition programs. “We need creativeprograms to help working mothers with breastfeeding, because that’sone more challenge.”

Another danger in developing countries is the practice of diluting

formula to make it last longer. That economic practice not only com-promises the nutritional status of the baby, but also can result in poortooth development, said Carole Palmer, a nutritionist with the Schoolof Dental Medicine and the Friedman School.

“If the baby is not getting the nutrients it needs while teeth aredeveloping prior to eruption, they are more susceptible to decay whenthey erupt,” Palmer said. Once a baby teethes, she said, the teethbecome susceptible to early childhood caries. This kind of tooth decaycan result when formula (or any other sugar-containing liquid) washesover newly erupted teeth or pools in an infant’s mouth over prolongedperiods of time. “It used to be called baby-bottle syndrome, or nursingsyndrome,” Palmer said, but the term has been broadened toacknowledge the implication of any sweetened beverage that issipped consistently over time.

International agencies, including WHO and UNICEF, have beenworking for several decades to promote breastfeeding and limit theinfluence of formula manufacturers. In 1981, WHO adopted its“International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes,” whichasks nations worldwide to restrict infant formula advertising and pro-motions. In 1991, WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-FriendlyHospital Initiative, in which medical facilities that provide breastfeed-ing support for new mothers become certified. This includes notaccepting free or low-cost formula or feeding supplies.

The international code “has been hugely important, and that wegot an international code and legislation in many countries controllingmarketing of breast-milk substitutes long before we got similar restric-tions on tobacco marketing was a major achievement,” said MichaelC. Latham of Cornell University, a longtime researcher on the benefitsof breastfeeding. “I have no doubt that there would be far lower preva-lence rates of breastfeeding worldwide if we did not have the code.”

—Helene Ragovin

“I wouldn’t, myself,pursue a threatmessage thatmothers are goingto harm theirbabies by usingformula.”—Parke Wilde

This poster, created by artist Erik HansKrause in 1939, was one in a series theNew York Department of Health andWelfare used to educate mothers aboutcleanliness, breastfeeding and properchild care.

A Congolese woman breastfeeds her infants. In the developing world,where water supplies are often tainted, feeding babies formula can be adeath sentence for the child.

Hendricks said. “Lots of other things need tobe in the system.”

One, Goldberg said, is individual sup-port for specific problems new mothers face.“The initiation of breastfeeding does takesome supervision with a first-born. Noteveryone is a natural.” Physical difficulties—whether with the mechanics of nursing orwith milk supply—are cited as one of themajor reasons women do not pursue exclu-sive breastfeeding.

Another is economics. While breastfeed-ing is the less-expensive option—it costs$1,500 to $2,000 a year to formula-feed achild using a name-brand formula, accordingto the federal government—that often has tobe balanced against lost wages. According toHHS, 70 percent of employed mothers who

have children under age 3 work full-time.About 30 percent of those mothers return

to work within three months of giving birth,and 60 percent to 70 percent within sixmonths. (African-American women are morelikely to return to work earlier, after eightweeks, and to be employed in jobs “that donot allow a mother to be successful at breast-feeding,” according to the HHS Blueprint forAction on Breastfeeding.)

The federal Family and Medical Leave Actguarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for those

working for mid-sized or large companies.While some employers are more generous,many are not. And once a woman returns towork, institutional policies don’t always jibewith the logistics required for nursing orpumping. Listen in at any gathering ofemployed mothers, and you’ll hear stories ofexpressing milk in supply closets, semi-opencubicles or cars in the parking lot.

“If you are working, and you don’t workfor one of the more forward-thinking organ-izations that create an environment to pump

breast milk and store it properly, you’ve got aproblem,” said Goldberg.

The issue affects American women at alllevels of employment, but lower-wage andunskilled women are particularly hard hit. Forskilled workers,“there’s value to the employerin making sure the employee is happy andpreferably doesn’t stop working in order tostay at home with an infant,” says Wilde, aneconomist.

“The tough fact is that other employers,whose labor force is unskilled, may find itsworkers replaceable, and breastfeeding is a

minor hassle that will only be accommo-dated if public policy requires it,” he said.

This past September, an article in TheNew York Times documented this “two-class”system for employed, nursing mothers—even citing instances of differing policieswithin the same companies, depending onwhether the women held white-collar orblue-collar jobs.

Such media attention, Wilde said, caneventually affect public policy. “When there’sa big feature in The New York Times, some-times that’s enough to influence the domesticpolitical debate,” he said. TN

Helene Ragovin is a senior writer in Tufts’Office of Publications. She can be reached athelene.ragovin@tufts.edu.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 25PHOTOS: BRADLEY C. BOWER, AP, LEFT; DAVID T. FOSTER III, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, ABOVE

CLOUT IN THE FORMULA MARKETNO DISCUSSION OF BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES IN THE UNITED STATES CAN

exclude the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplementalnutrition program. With a current caseload of 8 million people nation-wide, including 2 million infants, WIC’s policies and practices have atremendous impact on how American babies are nourished.

“WIC is a huge player in this, because at any one point in time, asignificant percentage of the population of infants goes on WIC,” said

Kristy Hendricks, associate professor at the Friedman School.According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about half of allinfants in the country receive WIC assistance at some point.

WIC, started in 1974, is a USDA program administered on a statelevel that provides vouchers for specific foods, such as milk, eggs, cereal or peanut butter, to low-income pregnant and postpartum womenand infants and children up to age 5. It is not intended to fulfill all thenutritional needs for mothers and children. Instead, it supplements foodstamps, other food-assistance programs and purchased groceries.

WIC’s influence is two-pronged. By offering education, support andfinancial incentives, it has increased the number of women in the pro-gram who breastfeed, reaching many who would not otherwise havemade that choice. But because it also provides free formula, distrib-uted through contracts with specific manufacturers, it also dominatesthe marketing and sales of infant formula in the United States.

Traditionally, breastfeeding rates for women who qualified for WIChave lagged behind those in the general population, although inrecent years, WIC rates have increased. In 2002, almost 59 percentof WIC mothers initiated breastfeeding, and 22 percent were breast-feeding at six months, according to the Ross Mothers Survey (RMS),a report on infant feeding practices prepared by Ross Products, amanufacturer of infant formula.

According to Rachel Colchamiro, WIC breastfeeding coordinator forMassachusetts, breastfeeding education is now a mandatory part ofWIC services. A particularly successful support program has been apeer-counseling system in which WIC mothers who have successfullybreastfed are hired to mentor new moms, either by phone, in the hos-pital, at WIC clinics or in support groups, Colchamiro said. InMassachusetts alone, there are nearly 100 peer counselors, shesaid. WIC also provides multilingual breastfeeding materials and willloan electric or manual breast pumps to new moms.

Additionally, women who breastfeed, even if they supplement withformula or other foods, are eligible to remain on WIC for a year aftergiving birth—six months longer than women who don’t breastfeed.Women who breastfeed exclusively are also entitled to additional foodvouchers each month.

“A large body of research indicates that participation in WIC is associated with increased rates of breastfeeding,” compared to mothers who qualify but do not participate, said Eileen T. Kennedy, deanof the Friedman School and a former USDA deputy undersecretary.

“The strength of WIC is that it continues to try harder to increase boththe number of infants [who are breastfed] and the period of time ababy is breastfed.”

But WIC also remains the dominant force in the infant formulaworld. More than half of the infant formula sold in the United States isdistributed through WIC, according to the USDA. The inclusion of formula among WIC-supplied commodities troubles some.

“It may sound cruel to suggest that WIC not give infant formula.But a low-income mother has so many economic needs. Why is infantformula the good that is supplied?” said Parke Wilde, an assistantprofessor at the Friedman School who does research on U.S. food pol-icy and food-assistance programs. “How did it happen that the federalgovernment provides these mothers with no entitlement guarantee tohousing, no entitlement guarantee to a fair wage or good public trans-portation to work or a quality education for their children, but yes, aguarantee of infant formula?”

“The WIC philosophy is that breastfeeding is the best way, and wedo everything we can to get the mom breastfeeding,” Colchamirosaid. “But feeding the baby is a priority, too, and if the mom doesn’tchoose to breastfeed, the most cost-effective way [for WIC] is to enterinto a contract” with formula manufacturers, she said.

Historically, breastfeeding rates among WIC moms have neverbeen as high as the rest of the population. Demographic factors arelargely at play, Colchamiro said. “Poorer women, and those who areless educated, are less likely to breastfeed,” she said.

“But there are huge cultural differences that we see in the pro-gram, depending on where people come from,” Colchamiro said.Latinas, particularly those who are recent immigrants, tend to breast-feed at high rates, and for “those who are newer, recently from theirhome countries, the rates are phenomenal,” she said. “As [immi-grants] become more acculturated, the rates drop.”—Helene Ragovin

“I think that in talking about the risksof not breastfeeding, one really has toconsider the lives of the women they’retalking to.” —Jeanne P. Goldberg

Esperanza Miranda, left, watches asAngela Howard endorses a voucher tobuy groceries at a WIC-only store inCharlotte, N.C.

More than half of the infant for-mula sold in the United States isdistributed through the Women,Infants and Children (WIC) nutri-tion program.

Hendricks said. “Lots of other things need tobe in the system.”

One, Goldberg said, is individual sup-port for specific problems new mothers face.“The initiation of breastfeeding does takesome supervision with a first-born. Noteveryone is a natural.” Physical difficulties—whether with the mechanics of nursing orwith milk supply—are cited as one of themajor reasons women do not pursue exclu-sive breastfeeding.

Another is economics. While breastfeed-ing is the less-expensive option—it costs$1,500 to $2,000 a year to formula-feed achild using a name-brand formula, accordingto the federal government—that often has tobe balanced against lost wages. According toHHS, 70 percent of employed mothers who

have children under age 3 work full-time.About 30 percent of those mothers return

to work within three months of giving birth,and 60 percent to 70 percent within sixmonths. (African-American women are morelikely to return to work earlier, after eightweeks, and to be employed in jobs “that donot allow a mother to be successful at breast-feeding,” according to the HHS Blueprint forAction on Breastfeeding.)

The federal Family and Medical Leave Actguarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for those

working for mid-sized or large companies.While some employers are more generous,many are not. And once a woman returns towork, institutional policies don’t always jibewith the logistics required for nursing orpumping. Listen in at any gathering ofemployed mothers, and you’ll hear stories ofexpressing milk in supply closets, semi-opencubicles or cars in the parking lot.

“If you are working, and you don’t workfor one of the more forward-thinking organ-izations that create an environment to pump

breast milk and store it properly, you’ve got aproblem,” said Goldberg.

The issue affects American women at alllevels of employment, but lower-wage andunskilled women are particularly hard hit. Forskilled workers,“there’s value to the employerin making sure the employee is happy andpreferably doesn’t stop working in order tostay at home with an infant,” says Wilde, aneconomist.

“The tough fact is that other employers,whose labor force is unskilled, may find itsworkers replaceable, and breastfeeding is a

minor hassle that will only be accommo-dated if public policy requires it,” he said.

This past September, an article in TheNew York Times documented this “two-class”system for employed, nursing mothers—even citing instances of differing policieswithin the same companies, depending onwhether the women held white-collar orblue-collar jobs.

Such media attention, Wilde said, caneventually affect public policy. “When there’sa big feature in The New York Times, some-times that’s enough to influence the domesticpolitical debate,” he said. TN

Helene Ragovin is a senior writer in Tufts’Office of Publications. She can be reached athelene.ragovin@tufts.edu.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 25PHOTOS: BRADLEY C. BOWER, AP, LEFT; DAVID T. FOSTER III, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, ABOVE

CLOUT IN THE FORMULA MARKETNO DISCUSSION OF BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES IN THE UNITED STATES CAN

exclude the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplementalnutrition program. With a current caseload of 8 million people nation-wide, including 2 million infants, WIC’s policies and practices have atremendous impact on how American babies are nourished.

“WIC is a huge player in this, because at any one point in time, asignificant percentage of the population of infants goes on WIC,” said

Kristy Hendricks, associate professor at the Friedman School.According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about half of allinfants in the country receive WIC assistance at some point.

WIC, started in 1974, is a USDA program administered on a statelevel that provides vouchers for specific foods, such as milk, eggs, cereal or peanut butter, to low-income pregnant and postpartum womenand infants and children up to age 5. It is not intended to fulfill all thenutritional needs for mothers and children. Instead, it supplements foodstamps, other food-assistance programs and purchased groceries.

WIC’s influence is two-pronged. By offering education, support andfinancial incentives, it has increased the number of women in the pro-gram who breastfeed, reaching many who would not otherwise havemade that choice. But because it also provides free formula, distrib-uted through contracts with specific manufacturers, it also dominatesthe marketing and sales of infant formula in the United States.

Traditionally, breastfeeding rates for women who qualified for WIChave lagged behind those in the general population, although inrecent years, WIC rates have increased. In 2002, almost 59 percentof WIC mothers initiated breastfeeding, and 22 percent were breast-feeding at six months, according to the Ross Mothers Survey (RMS),a report on infant feeding practices prepared by Ross Products, amanufacturer of infant formula.

According to Rachel Colchamiro, WIC breastfeeding coordinator forMassachusetts, breastfeeding education is now a mandatory part ofWIC services. A particularly successful support program has been apeer-counseling system in which WIC mothers who have successfullybreastfed are hired to mentor new moms, either by phone, in the hos-pital, at WIC clinics or in support groups, Colchamiro said. InMassachusetts alone, there are nearly 100 peer counselors, shesaid. WIC also provides multilingual breastfeeding materials and willloan electric or manual breast pumps to new moms.

Additionally, women who breastfeed, even if they supplement withformula or other foods, are eligible to remain on WIC for a year aftergiving birth—six months longer than women who don’t breastfeed.Women who breastfeed exclusively are also entitled to additional foodvouchers each month.

“A large body of research indicates that participation in WIC is associated with increased rates of breastfeeding,” compared to mothers who qualify but do not participate, said Eileen T. Kennedy, deanof the Friedman School and a former USDA deputy undersecretary.

“The strength of WIC is that it continues to try harder to increase boththe number of infants [who are breastfed] and the period of time ababy is breastfed.”

But WIC also remains the dominant force in the infant formulaworld. More than half of the infant formula sold in the United States isdistributed through WIC, according to the USDA. The inclusion of formula among WIC-supplied commodities troubles some.

“It may sound cruel to suggest that WIC not give infant formula.But a low-income mother has so many economic needs. Why is infantformula the good that is supplied?” said Parke Wilde, an assistantprofessor at the Friedman School who does research on U.S. food pol-icy and food-assistance programs. “How did it happen that the federalgovernment provides these mothers with no entitlement guarantee tohousing, no entitlement guarantee to a fair wage or good public trans-portation to work or a quality education for their children, but yes, aguarantee of infant formula?”

“The WIC philosophy is that breastfeeding is the best way, and wedo everything we can to get the mom breastfeeding,” Colchamirosaid. “But feeding the baby is a priority, too, and if the mom doesn’tchoose to breastfeed, the most cost-effective way [for WIC] is to enterinto a contract” with formula manufacturers, she said.

Historically, breastfeeding rates among WIC moms have neverbeen as high as the rest of the population. Demographic factors arelargely at play, Colchamiro said. “Poorer women, and those who areless educated, are less likely to breastfeed,” she said.

“But there are huge cultural differences that we see in the pro-gram, depending on where people come from,” Colchamiro said.Latinas, particularly those who are recent immigrants, tend to breast-feed at high rates, and for “those who are newer, recently from theirhome countries, the rates are phenomenal,” she said. “As [immi-grants] become more acculturated, the rates drop.”—Helene Ragovin

“I think that in talking about the risksof not breastfeeding, one really has toconsider the lives of the women they’retalking to.” —Jeanne P. Goldberg

Esperanza Miranda, left, watches asAngela Howard endorses a voucher tobuy groceries at a WIC-only store inCharlotte, N.C.

More than half of the infant for-mula sold in the United States isdistributed through the Women,Infants and Children (WIC) nutri-tion program.

.. ,

more than a deep-fried potato. A comfort food, it can also serve as a

reminder of home. Eaten to excess, it can also pack on the pounds, and

like their civilian counterparts, more and more American soldiers are

losing the battle of the bulge. n Col. Gaston Bathalon, N90, N98, is on

the front lines of keeping U.S. Army soldiers in fighting shape. As

deputy commander of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environ-

mental Medicine in Natick, Mass., Bathalon does the science that sets

nutrition policy for our armed forces. n Overweight soldiers who don’t

meet the Army’s standards—as dictated by height-for-weight charts

and body-fat-percent standards—at one of their twice-yearly weigh-

ins are automatically enrolled in the Army Weight Control Program,

known as Army Regulation 600-9. As of June 2006, approximately

15,400 of the Army’s 491,956 soldiers were enrolled in the program.

Like many other responsible weight-loss regimes, the Army program

emphasizes eating less and exercising more. But also like many no-

nonsense diet plans, the Army Weight Control Program—which

requires soldiers to lose three to eight pounds a month until they meet

their age- and gender-spe-

cific weight requirements—

doesn’t work for everyone.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 27PHOTO: MILITARYPHOTO.COM

Col. Gaston Bathalon serves on the front line of the U.S. Army’sbattle of the bulge by Jacqueline Mitchell

in fighting shape

.. ,

more than a deep-fried potato. A comfort food, it can also serve as a

reminder of home. Eaten to excess, it can also pack on the pounds, and

like their civilian counterparts, more and more American soldiers are

losing the battle of the bulge. n Col. Gaston Bathalon, N90, N98, is on

the front lines of keeping U.S. Army soldiers in fighting shape. As

deputy commander of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environ-

mental Medicine in Natick, Mass., Bathalon does the science that sets

nutrition policy for our armed forces. n Overweight soldiers who don’t

meet the Army’s standards—as dictated by height-for-weight charts

and body-fat-percent standards—at one of their twice-yearly weigh-

ins are automatically enrolled in the Army Weight Control Program,

known as Army Regulation 600-9. As of June 2006, approximately

15,400 of the Army’s 491,956 soldiers were enrolled in the program.

Like many other responsible weight-loss regimes, the Army program

emphasizes eating less and exercising more. But also like many no-

nonsense diet plans, the Army Weight Control Program—which

requires soldiers to lose three to eight pounds a month until they meet

their age- and gender-spe-

cific weight requirements—

doesn’t work for everyone.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 27PHOTO: MILITARYPHOTO.COM

Col. Gaston Bathalon serves on the front line of the U.S. Army’sbattle of the bulge by Jacqueline Mitchell

in fighting shape

early 4,000 soldiers havebeen discharged from the Army since 2001because they were overweight and over-fat,according to the Department of the Army. Itis a loss of manpower the military can’tafford in wartime. And among those sol-diers who did lose weight, evidence suggestssome put their health at risk by using laxa-tives, appetite suppressants and rubber saunasuits to control their weight—behaviors atleast as dangerous as carrying extra pounds.Bathalon’s research found that 71 percent ofthe more than 1,400 troops referred to theWomack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg,N.C., for weight loss reported skipping meals,and 31 percent reported fasting to help con-trol their weight.

CAREER BREAKERTo reverse these trends, Bathalon surveyedsoldiers to determine why they gained theweight in the first place. For one thing,Bathalon believes the stigma attached to theArmy Weight Control Program—classified asa “negative personnel action”—isn’t help-ing. Soldiers enrolled in the program can’t getpromoted, assume command positions,attend professional development schools orreceive awards.

Overweight soldiers’ careers are on theline—and they know it. “I eat because I’mdepressed, and I’m depressed because I eat,”one soldier wrote in Bathalon’s survey.

“That hits you right here,” he said, restingone hand on his camouflage-covered chest.“My focus is on whether the policy is fair andright. And if not, how can it be?”

It’s an attitude he honed during his years atTufts. Born and raised on a farm in Vermont,Bathalon was always interested in food andnutrition. After studying nutrition at the Uni-versity of Vermont, he received a direct com-mission into the Army Medical SpecialistCorps, where he worked as a dietitian. At ameeting of the American Dietetic Association,Bathalon met William Evans, then chief of theHuman Physiology Laboratory at the USDAHuman Nutrition Research Center on Aging(HNRCA) at Tufts. Before long, Bathalonwas working on his master’s degree and doingresearch in Evans’ lab.

After completing his master’s in humannutrition sciences in 1990, Bathalon became

the clinical instructor for the Army DieteticInternship at Brooke Army Medical Center atFort Sam Houston, Texas. But Evans, as well ashis mentor, Lt. Col. Gale Partridge, urged himto get a Ph.D. By the fall of 1992, Bathalon wasback at Tufts. In Susan Roberts’ Energy Metab-olism Laboratory at the HNRCA, he looked atthe long-term consequences of self-imposeddieting in postmenopausal women. Not a hot-button issue for the U.S. Army, but the expe-

rience and skills laid the foundation for hisresearch interests.

Now the first dietitian to have chaired theU.S. Army Research Institute of Environ-mental Medicine’s Human Use Review Com-mittee, Bathalon has been at the Natickfacility since 1998. That’s a long time for acareer soldier to be in any one place.

“It’s a testament to the times,” he said.“Leadership has been very supportive of keep-

ing me here. Because of that, we’ve been ableto make pretty significant inroads.”

Bathalon has seen the number of soldiersdischarged for being overweight and over-fatcome down. But in order to lower those sta-tistics, the Army first had to find out why sol-diers pack on the pounds.

Like the rest of us, stateside soldiers gainweight because they have desk jobs with littletime to work out or prepare low-calorie, bal-anced meals at home. Bathalon’s surveys alsoshowed that soldiers face challenges unique tothe military when it comes to controllingtheir weight. The largest number of soldierssaid they gained weight as the result of injuryor illness that prevented them from workingout. Because a hurt soldier can’t necessarilyrun, walk or work out, Bathalon advocates apreventative approach.

“We need to be partnering with doctors tocounsel soldiers in rehab to keep the weightoff,” he said.

On the home front, some soldiers reportedthey gained weight as the result of the fre-quent moves that come with reassignment—as often as every two years.

THE STRESS OF WARBut almost a third of the soldiers surveyedsaid they gained weight because they weredeployed. Bathalon points out that whilesome deployed soldiers are physically activeon a daily basis, many support personnelhave more sedentary jobs. Then, there are theFrench fries in the mess hall.

“If you put people in a war zone, awayfrom their families, and they happen to bestress-eaters, they will likely see weight gain,”said Bathalon, who noted that three-quartersof soldiers enrolled in the ArmyWeight Control Program strug-gled with their weight beforeenlisting.

Still, Bathalon doesn’t advo-cate a completely fat-free messhall. “We need to be very carefulabout taking things away fromthem,” he said.

So what are the best ways toslim soldiers down? While manyweight-loss programs have beenstudied in civilians, researchersat the Natick laboratory test

weight-management techniques on soldiersin their unique military environments.Bathalon is in the midst of a two-year clinicalstudy in collaboration with the WomackArmy Medical Center to determine if mealreplacements can help soldiers manage theirweight better.

At a meeting of the North American Asso-ciation for the Study of Obesity, Bathalonand his colleagues presented their findingsthat using personal digital assistants (PDAs)to track calorie intake and exercise was easierand just as accurate as using a pen and paperto keep such records. This study laid thegroundwork for the next step: seeing if PDA-based software can help soldiers lose weight.

Technology could come to the rescue inother ways, too. This past summer, Bathalon’scolleagues at the Pennington BiomedicalResearch Center rolled out an interactive

website at Fort Bragg, N.C.,where soldiers can findinformation and guidanceon weight loss and exer-cise. Bathalon is tweakingthe website design to helpNew England’s Army Re-servists—who don’t havethe same access to healthcare as active duty sol-diers—stay in shape, too.

“There is clearly not oneway for everybody,” he said.“The more options we can

provide based on people’s different needsand psychology, I think the better we can helpthem.”

In October, the Army revised its weightlimits for female soldiers, acknowledging thatwomen carry weight differently than men.The change allows most women to weigh 5 to19 pounds more under Army Regulation 600-9, which was last updated 17 years ago.

Perhaps most important, Bathalon is look-ing to support the Army Surgeon General inmaking the Army Weight Control Programless punitive and more rehabilitative. As partof the program’s “Weigh to Stay” compo-nent, soldiers learn about eating a balanceddiet, keeping food records and getting enoughexercise during one-on-one sessions with anArmy dietitian. After the three mandatorymeetings, soldiers may return for nutritionalcounseling as often as they want.

“And therein lies the problem,” saidBathalon, who suspects soldiers don’t prior-itize the nutritional visits because they are toobusy or possibly too embarrassed to mentionit to their commanders. To increase compli-ance, he’d like to increase the mandatorynumber of visits as well as integrate some ofthe other interventions—such as the mealreplacements, the PDAs and websites—intothe Weight Control Program.

“We’re building a bag of treatmentoptions,” he said. “I’ve influenced policy, andthat was a theme at Tufts. To influence policythrough research, that’s quite something.” TN

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 2928 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: MELODY KO PHOTO: TIM LARGE/TACRAFTS

n

Body Fat Standards for Male Army SoldiersAges 17-20 . . .20%Ages 21-27 . . .22%Ages 28-39 . . .24%Ages 40+ . . . .26%

Body Fat Standards for Female Army SoldiersAges 17-20 . . .30%Ages 21-27 . . .32%Ages 28-39 . . .34%Age 40+ . . . . .36%

SOURCE: U.S. ARMY

While some deployed soldiers arephysically active on a daily basis,many support personnel have moresedentary jobs. Then, there are theFrench fries in the mess hall.

Col. Gaston Bathalon, N90, N98

early 4,000 soldiers havebeen discharged from the Army since 2001because they were overweight and over-fat,according to the Department of the Army. Itis a loss of manpower the military can’tafford in wartime. And among those sol-diers who did lose weight, evidence suggestssome put their health at risk by using laxa-tives, appetite suppressants and rubber saunasuits to control their weight—behaviors atleast as dangerous as carrying extra pounds.Bathalon’s research found that 71 percent ofthe more than 1,400 troops referred to theWomack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg,N.C., for weight loss reported skipping meals,and 31 percent reported fasting to help con-trol their weight.

CAREER BREAKERTo reverse these trends, Bathalon surveyedsoldiers to determine why they gained theweight in the first place. For one thing,Bathalon believes the stigma attached to theArmy Weight Control Program—classified asa “negative personnel action”—isn’t help-ing. Soldiers enrolled in the program can’t getpromoted, assume command positions,attend professional development schools orreceive awards.

Overweight soldiers’ careers are on theline—and they know it. “I eat because I’mdepressed, and I’m depressed because I eat,”one soldier wrote in Bathalon’s survey.

“That hits you right here,” he said, restingone hand on his camouflage-covered chest.“My focus is on whether the policy is fair andright. And if not, how can it be?”

It’s an attitude he honed during his years atTufts. Born and raised on a farm in Vermont,Bathalon was always interested in food andnutrition. After studying nutrition at the Uni-versity of Vermont, he received a direct com-mission into the Army Medical SpecialistCorps, where he worked as a dietitian. At ameeting of the American Dietetic Association,Bathalon met William Evans, then chief of theHuman Physiology Laboratory at the USDAHuman Nutrition Research Center on Aging(HNRCA) at Tufts. Before long, Bathalonwas working on his master’s degree and doingresearch in Evans’ lab.

After completing his master’s in humannutrition sciences in 1990, Bathalon became

the clinical instructor for the Army DieteticInternship at Brooke Army Medical Center atFort Sam Houston, Texas. But Evans, as well ashis mentor, Lt. Col. Gale Partridge, urged himto get a Ph.D. By the fall of 1992, Bathalon wasback at Tufts. In Susan Roberts’ Energy Metab-olism Laboratory at the HNRCA, he looked atthe long-term consequences of self-imposeddieting in postmenopausal women. Not a hot-button issue for the U.S. Army, but the expe-

rience and skills laid the foundation for hisresearch interests.

Now the first dietitian to have chaired theU.S. Army Research Institute of Environ-mental Medicine’s Human Use Review Com-mittee, Bathalon has been at the Natickfacility since 1998. That’s a long time for acareer soldier to be in any one place.

“It’s a testament to the times,” he said.“Leadership has been very supportive of keep-

ing me here. Because of that, we’ve been ableto make pretty significant inroads.”

Bathalon has seen the number of soldiersdischarged for being overweight and over-fatcome down. But in order to lower those sta-tistics, the Army first had to find out why sol-diers pack on the pounds.

Like the rest of us, stateside soldiers gainweight because they have desk jobs with littletime to work out or prepare low-calorie, bal-anced meals at home. Bathalon’s surveys alsoshowed that soldiers face challenges unique tothe military when it comes to controllingtheir weight. The largest number of soldierssaid they gained weight as the result of injuryor illness that prevented them from workingout. Because a hurt soldier can’t necessarilyrun, walk or work out, Bathalon advocates apreventative approach.

“We need to be partnering with doctors tocounsel soldiers in rehab to keep the weightoff,” he said.

On the home front, some soldiers reportedthey gained weight as the result of the fre-quent moves that come with reassignment—as often as every two years.

THE STRESS OF WARBut almost a third of the soldiers surveyedsaid they gained weight because they weredeployed. Bathalon points out that whilesome deployed soldiers are physically activeon a daily basis, many support personnelhave more sedentary jobs. Then, there are theFrench fries in the mess hall.

“If you put people in a war zone, awayfrom their families, and they happen to bestress-eaters, they will likely see weight gain,”said Bathalon, who noted that three-quartersof soldiers enrolled in the ArmyWeight Control Program strug-gled with their weight beforeenlisting.

Still, Bathalon doesn’t advo-cate a completely fat-free messhall. “We need to be very carefulabout taking things away fromthem,” he said.

So what are the best ways toslim soldiers down? While manyweight-loss programs have beenstudied in civilians, researchersat the Natick laboratory test

weight-management techniques on soldiersin their unique military environments.Bathalon is in the midst of a two-year clinicalstudy in collaboration with the WomackArmy Medical Center to determine if mealreplacements can help soldiers manage theirweight better.

At a meeting of the North American Asso-ciation for the Study of Obesity, Bathalonand his colleagues presented their findingsthat using personal digital assistants (PDAs)to track calorie intake and exercise was easierand just as accurate as using a pen and paperto keep such records. This study laid thegroundwork for the next step: seeing if PDA-based software can help soldiers lose weight.

Technology could come to the rescue inother ways, too. This past summer, Bathalon’scolleagues at the Pennington BiomedicalResearch Center rolled out an interactive

website at Fort Bragg, N.C.,where soldiers can findinformation and guidanceon weight loss and exer-cise. Bathalon is tweakingthe website design to helpNew England’s Army Re-servists—who don’t havethe same access to healthcare as active duty sol-diers—stay in shape, too.

“There is clearly not oneway for everybody,” he said.“The more options we can

provide based on people’s different needsand psychology, I think the better we can helpthem.”

In October, the Army revised its weightlimits for female soldiers, acknowledging thatwomen carry weight differently than men.The change allows most women to weigh 5 to19 pounds more under Army Regulation 600-9, which was last updated 17 years ago.

Perhaps most important, Bathalon is look-ing to support the Army Surgeon General inmaking the Army Weight Control Programless punitive and more rehabilitative. As partof the program’s “Weigh to Stay” compo-nent, soldiers learn about eating a balanceddiet, keeping food records and getting enoughexercise during one-on-one sessions with anArmy dietitian. After the three mandatorymeetings, soldiers may return for nutritionalcounseling as often as they want.

“And therein lies the problem,” saidBathalon, who suspects soldiers don’t prior-itize the nutritional visits because they are toobusy or possibly too embarrassed to mentionit to their commanders. To increase compli-ance, he’d like to increase the mandatorynumber of visits as well as integrate some ofthe other interventions—such as the mealreplacements, the PDAs and websites—intothe Weight Control Program.

“We’re building a bag of treatmentoptions,” he said. “I’ve influenced policy, andthat was a theme at Tufts. To influence policythrough research, that’s quite something.” TN

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 2928 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: MELODY KO PHOTO: TIM LARGE/TACRAFTS

n

Body Fat Standards for Male Army SoldiersAges 17-20 . . .20%Ages 21-27 . . .22%Ages 28-39 . . .24%Ages 40+ . . . .26%

Body Fat Standards for Female Army SoldiersAges 17-20 . . .30%Ages 21-27 . . .32%Ages 28-39 . . .34%Age 40+ . . . . .36%

SOURCE: U.S. ARMY

While some deployed soldiers arephysically active on a daily basis,many support personnel have moresedentary jobs. Then, there are theFrench fries in the mess hall.

Col. Gaston Bathalon, N90, N98

research on the benefits of either diet,Lichtenstein hypothesized that each regi-men helped people restrict their calories byeliminating large categories of food fromthe menu. But when low-fat cookies andlow-carb bagels hit the market shelves,those calories crept back into our diets.

Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritionalsciences at Penn State, said that Americans’propensity for overeating may be a naturalconsequence of our “super-sized” world.Her research indicates that people uncon-sciously eat larger portions of high-energydensity foods—foods with more caloriesper ounce like macaroni and cheese andbaked goods—as serving sizes increase. Butthe bad news is that people usually don’tapply that super-size mentality when itcomes to eating fruits and vegetables.

“This is very, very consistent across peo-ple,” Rolls said. But the one demographic inwhich Rolls did not see the effect is cause forsome hope—very young children. “It showsus that kids are still listening to biologicalcues,” she said, emphasizing the importanceof research for the school lunch policy.

Another speaker, Leonard Epstein, pro-fessor of pediatrics at SUNY-Buffalo, looksat obesity through an economic lens, test-ing under what circumstances pricing,marketing and labeling influence whatfoods we buy. In one series of experiments,Epstein and his colleagues manipulated theprices of foods in vending machines.Reducing the price of low-fat foods didincrease sales, but only marginally. Forexample, 50 percent price reductions led tojust a 20 percent increase in sales. Evenmore striking, Epstein found that labelingfood as healthy actually decreased sales.

“Though price appears to be the mainfactor, health messages may imply thatfood will taste less good,” he said.

In studies in a mock supermarket,Epstein and his colleagues found that whilethin mothers purchase better food whenthe price of unhealthful food goes up,obese mothers did not behave the sameway. “Understanding how different indi-viduals evaluate food is critical to under-standing obesity,” said Epstein. “If we canalter purchasing patterns, we can alter con-sumption.”

SCIENCE LINKED TO ACTIONMark Hegsted, professor emeritus at theHarvard School of Public Health and oneof the first researchers to link Americandietary habits with increases in heart dis-ease, cancer and diabetes, also gave akeynote address. A contributor to theDietary Goals of the United States in 1977and the first USDA Dietary Guidelines in1981, Hegsted talked about his experiencedetermining how much evidence is enoughwhen making public policy.

“When you’re the first, you really haveto have the strength of your convictionsbecause you take a lot of criticism fromyour colleagues,” said Kennedy, who placesHegsted among the most important nutri-tion scientists in the last century. “Again,this is science linked to action.”

“Lean Plate Club”columnist Sally Squiresof the Washington Post and Sylvia Rowe,adjunct professor at the Friedman Schooland former CEO and president of theInternational Food Information Council,discussed how best to communicate com-plex nutrition.

Noting that she avoids the words “don’t”and “diet” in her columns, Squires empha-sized the importance of sending positivemessages. “It can’t be about what you takeaway. It’s about making small, achievablechanges,” she said.

“Short of cloning Sally, we have a bigchallenge ahead of us,” said Rowe, citingresearch showing that just 12 percent ofconsumers know how many calories theyshould eat each day. Rowe pointed to thecontent-hungry, 24-hour news cycle and thedearth of reporters with scientific back-grounds as a possible reason why consumersget confused when they read or see newsstories offering nutrition and dietary advice.

“The role of scientists in the media iscritical,” Rowe said. “Reporters need you tohelp them provide context and separateout the information that warrants behav-ior change.”

The symposium also gave FriedmanSchool students the opportunity to meetwith experts in the field over breakfast.Rachel Cheatham, who expects to com-plete her Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistryand metabolism next spring, met nutri-

tionists from Frito Lay and Kraft as well asSylvia Rowe.

“That’s when I realized there were somereally important people” at the symposium,she said. “I was impressed that the top peo-ple in their fields were willing to chat withme and give me their [business] cards.”

“That’s one thing I keep reading in thefeedback [on the symposium]—that it wasa lovely and unusual aspect to include thestudents,” Kennedy, the school’s dean, said.“It never would even occur to us not toinvolve students.”

—Jacqueline Mitchell

MEET THE NEW CLASS

25New England

6West Coast

4South

12Mid-Atlantic

7Midwest

9International

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3130 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

-

wan came to Boston this fall for the firstFriedman School Symposium, “DietaryGuidelines 2010: The Right Stuff.” Theguidelines that will be implemented fouryears from now “might be the single mostcritical step to addressing the growing andpreventable health crises...affecting Amer-ican and world populations,” FriedmanSchool Dean Eileen T. Kennedy said.

Every five years, the U.S. departmentsof Agriculture and Health and Human Services review, update andrelease new Dietary Guidelines containing the latest nutritional anddietary advice for Americans. The Dietary Guidelines are also the back-bone of U.S. nutrition policy, affecting programs such as the NationalSchool Lunch Program. In the latest guidelines, released in 2005, someof the key messages were: Get the most nutrition out of your calories;find a balance between food and physical activity; make smart choicesfrom every food group; mix up choices within each food group; knowhow to prepare, handle and store food safely; and drink alcohol inmoderation.

During their three days in Boston September 19–21, 245 researchersand policymakers discussed the best and the newest research comingout of the Friedman School and other institutions that might influencethe 2010 guidelines. “The Friedman School—because of the breadthand depth of training and research that goes on here—emphasizes link-ing science to policy, science to applications and science to communi-cations,” said Kennedy.

ON CAMPUS NUTRITION SCHOOL NEWS

PHOTOS: MELODY KO AND JOANIE TOBIN

Scoping out the science that will inform the new Dietary Guidelines

Eating well in 2010

Mark Hegsted

“All good public policy has to be rootedin good science,” Carole Tucker Foreman,director of the Consumer Federation ofAmerica’s Food Policy Institute, said in herkeynote address. As the USDA’s assistantsecretary for food and consumer servicesfrom 1977 to 1981, Foreman oversaw thedevelopment of the first Dietary Guidelinesfor Americans and used Tufts research topersuade Congress to expand the federalWomen, Infants and Children (WIC) pro-gram in the early 1980s.

WE’RE NOT ALL FARMERSConcerned that industrial farming interestsare overrepresented by current nationalpolicy, Foreman said the United States is“not addressing public health challenges.The priority should be to serve the 98 per-cent of Americans who are not farmers.Maybe in the audience, there is a buddingJean Mayer [the former Tufts presidentwho was an internationally respectednutritionist] who will have that magictouch with Congress.”

Dr. Simin Nikbin Meydani, associatedirector of Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA HumanNutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), discussed the questions andquandaries surrounding vitamin E. Mey-dani said the research community has goneforward without reaching consensus aboutdosage and target populations, withoutmeasuring patient compliance and withouthaving a hypothesis about how the vitaminmight reduce cardiovascular disease, whichsome research suggests it might.

“Perhaps in the rush to demonstrate theeffect, we forgot the basic concepts of anygood scientific research,” she said.

Given that 66 percent of Americanadults are overweight, many of the researchpresentations focused on the nation’s obesity epidemic. Chronicling Americans’almost-fanatical pursuit of thinness, AliceLichtenstein, director of the CardiovascularNutrition Laboratory at the HNRCA, com-pared the low-fat craze of the ’90s to thelow-carb fads of the early 2000s. Both kindsof diets appeared to work when they firstbecame popular, but the rate of obesitycontinued to climb dramatically. Why?Noting that there is very little long-term

Students had the opportunity to chatwith symposium participants.

WHO THEY ARECompleted applications 257Admitted 123Master’s students matriculated 54Ph.D. students matriculated 9Women 54Men 9

PROGRAM ENROLLMENTAgriculture, Food and Environment 8Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition 9Food Policy and Applied Nutrition 18M.A. in Humanitarian Assistance 6Nutrition/Dietetic Internship 8Nutritional Epidemiology 6Nutrition Communication 8

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTAverage GPA 3.54Average GRE Verbal 580Average GRE Quantitative 668

WHERE THEY COME FROM

research on the benefits of either diet,Lichtenstein hypothesized that each regi-men helped people restrict their calories byeliminating large categories of food fromthe menu. But when low-fat cookies andlow-carb bagels hit the market shelves,those calories crept back into our diets.

Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritionalsciences at Penn State, said that Americans’propensity for overeating may be a naturalconsequence of our “super-sized” world.Her research indicates that people uncon-sciously eat larger portions of high-energydensity foods—foods with more caloriesper ounce like macaroni and cheese andbaked goods—as serving sizes increase. Butthe bad news is that people usually don’tapply that super-size mentality when itcomes to eating fruits and vegetables.

“This is very, very consistent across peo-ple,” Rolls said. But the one demographic inwhich Rolls did not see the effect is cause forsome hope—very young children. “It showsus that kids are still listening to biologicalcues,” she said, emphasizing the importanceof research for the school lunch policy.

Another speaker, Leonard Epstein, pro-fessor of pediatrics at SUNY-Buffalo, looksat obesity through an economic lens, test-ing under what circumstances pricing,marketing and labeling influence whatfoods we buy. In one series of experiments,Epstein and his colleagues manipulated theprices of foods in vending machines.Reducing the price of low-fat foods didincrease sales, but only marginally. Forexample, 50 percent price reductions led tojust a 20 percent increase in sales. Evenmore striking, Epstein found that labelingfood as healthy actually decreased sales.

“Though price appears to be the mainfactor, health messages may imply thatfood will taste less good,” he said.

In studies in a mock supermarket,Epstein and his colleagues found that whilethin mothers purchase better food whenthe price of unhealthful food goes up,obese mothers did not behave the sameway. “Understanding how different indi-viduals evaluate food is critical to under-standing obesity,” said Epstein. “If we canalter purchasing patterns, we can alter con-sumption.”

SCIENCE LINKED TO ACTIONMark Hegsted, professor emeritus at theHarvard School of Public Health and oneof the first researchers to link Americandietary habits with increases in heart dis-ease, cancer and diabetes, also gave akeynote address. A contributor to theDietary Goals of the United States in 1977and the first USDA Dietary Guidelines in1981, Hegsted talked about his experiencedetermining how much evidence is enoughwhen making public policy.

“When you’re the first, you really haveto have the strength of your convictionsbecause you take a lot of criticism fromyour colleagues,” said Kennedy, who placesHegsted among the most important nutri-tion scientists in the last century. “Again,this is science linked to action.”

“Lean Plate Club” columnist Sally Squiresof the Washington Post and Sylvia Rowe,adjunct professor at the Friedman Schooland former CEO and president of theInternational Food Information Council,discussed how best to communicate com-plex nutrition.

Noting that she avoids the words “don’t”and “diet” in her columns, Squires empha-sized the importance of sending positivemessages. “It can’t be about what you takeaway. It’s about making small, achievablechanges,” she said.

“Short of cloning Sally, we have a bigchallenge ahead of us,” said Rowe, citingresearch showing that just 12 percent ofconsumers know how many calories theyshould eat each day. Rowe pointed to thecontent-hungry, 24-hour news cycle and thedearth of reporters with scientific back-grounds as a possible reason why consumersget confused when they read or see newsstories offering nutrition and dietary advice.

“The role of scientists in the media iscritical,” Rowe said. “Reporters need you tohelp them provide context and separateout the information that warrants behav-ior change.”

The symposium also gave FriedmanSchool students the opportunity to meetwith experts in the field over breakfast.Rachel Cheatham, who expects to com-plete her Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistryand metabolism next spring, met nutri-

tionists from Frito Lay and Kraft as well asSylvia Rowe.

“That’s when I realized there were somereally important people” at the symposium,she said. “I was impressed that the top peo-ple in their fields were willing to chat withme and give me their [business] cards.”

“That’s one thing I keep reading in thefeedback [on the symposium]—that it wasa lovely and unusual aspect to include thestudents,” Kennedy, the school’s dean, said.“It never would even occur to us not toinvolve students.”

—Jacqueline Mitchell

MEET THE NEW CLASS

25New England

6West Coast

4South

12Mid-Atlantic

7Midwest

9International

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3130 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

-

wan came to Boston this fall for the firstFriedman School Symposium, “DietaryGuidelines 2010: The Right Stuff.” Theguidelines that will be implemented fouryears from now “might be the single mostcritical step to addressing the growing andpreventable health crises...affecting Amer-ican and world populations,” FriedmanSchool Dean Eileen T. Kennedy said.

Every five years, the U.S. departmentsof Agriculture and Health and Human Services review, update andrelease new Dietary Guidelines containing the latest nutritional anddietary advice for Americans. The Dietary Guidelines are also the back-bone of U.S. nutrition policy, affecting programs such as the NationalSchool Lunch Program. In the latest guidelines, released in 2005, someof the key messages were: Get the most nutrition out of your calories;find a balance between food and physical activity; make smart choicesfrom every food group; mix up choices within each food group; knowhow to prepare, handle and store food safely; and drink alcohol inmoderation.

During their three days in Boston September 19–21, 245 researchersand policymakers discussed the best and the newest research comingout of the Friedman School and other institutions that might influencethe 2010 guidelines. “The Friedman School—because of the breadthand depth of training and research that goes on here—emphasizes link-ing science to policy, science to applications and science to communi-cations,” said Kennedy.

ON CAMPUS NUTRITION SCHOOL NEWS

PHOTOS: MELODY KO AND JOANIE TOBIN

Scoping out the science that will inform the new Dietary Guidelines

Eating well in 2010

Mark Hegsted

“All good public policy has to be rootedin good science,” Carole Tucker Foreman,director of the Consumer Federation ofAmerica’s Food Policy Institute, said in herkeynote address. As the USDA’s assistantsecretary for food and consumer servicesfrom 1977 to 1981, Foreman oversaw thedevelopment of the first Dietary Guidelinesfor Americans and used Tufts research topersuade Congress to expand the federalWomen, Infants and Children (WIC) pro-gram in the early 1980s.

WE’RE NOT ALL FARMERSConcerned that industrial farming interestsare overrepresented by current nationalpolicy, Foreman said the United States is“not addressing public health challenges.The priority should be to serve the 98 per-cent of Americans who are not farmers.Maybe in the audience, there is a buddingJean Mayer [the former Tufts presidentwho was an internationally respectednutritionist] who will have that magictouch with Congress.”

Dr. Simin Nikbin Meydani, associatedirector of Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA HumanNutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), discussed the questions andquandaries surrounding vitamin E. Mey-dani said the research community has goneforward without reaching consensus aboutdosage and target populations, withoutmeasuring patient compliance and withouthaving a hypothesis about how the vitaminmight reduce cardiovascular disease, whichsome research suggests it might.

“Perhaps in the rush to demonstrate theeffect, we forgot the basic concepts of anygood scientific research,” she said.

Given that 66 percent of Americanadults are overweight, many of the researchpresentations focused on the nation’s obesity epidemic. Chronicling Americans’almost-fanatical pursuit of thinness, AliceLichtenstein, director of the CardiovascularNutrition Laboratory at the HNRCA, com-pared the low-fat craze of the ’90s to thelow-carb fads of the early 2000s. Both kindsof diets appeared to work when they firstbecame popular, but the rate of obesitycontinued to climb dramatically. Why?Noting that there is very little long-term

Students had the opportunity to chatwith symposium participants.

WHO THEY ARECompleted applications 257Admitted 123Master’s students matriculated 54Ph.D. students matriculated 9Women 54Men 9

PROGRAM ENROLLMENTAgriculture, Food and Environment 8Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition 9Food Policy and Applied Nutrition 18M.A. in Humanitarian Assistance 6Nutrition/Dietetic Internship 8Nutritional Epidemiology 6Nutrition Communication 8

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTAverage GPA 3.54Average GRE Verbal 580Average GRE Quantitative 668

WHERE THEY COME FROM

“Hunger is a huge issue in Somerville,”said Heidkamp-Young.“That really intrigu-ed me. It’s an area where I could make animmediate difference.” As an Active CitizenSummer Fellow, she was paired with theSomerville Homeless Coalition and workedwith coalition Director Mark Alston-Follansbee to develop the Tufts programover the course of the 2005-06 academicyear. (The program is also coordinated by asteering committee with representativesfrom Tufts and the coalition.)

“I always loved food, but I didn’t realizegoing into this that it would be so muchabout food and cooking,” Heidkamp-Young noted, referring not only to thehours spent in the kitchen, but the addi-tional time to scour cookbooks for recipesand to plan menus. The program reliedentirely on donated food, mainly fromFood for Free, a Cambridge-based non-profit that distributes unused food fromfarmers’ markets; Tufts Dining Servicesand the Danish Pastry House on BostonAvenue in Medford.

The trainees also received “life skills”training—how to put together a resume,conduct a job search or perform at a jobinterview. The trainees live in Somerville,Medford or Cambridge and were allreferred to the Tufts-Homeless Coalitionprogram by social service agencies.“They’re all transitioning,” said Heidkamp-Young. “They could all benefit from a sta-ble job. We’re giving them the skills to tryto pursue that.”

Back in the Carmichael kitchen, MariaSanchez and Murielle Mazaire, their hairtucked neatly into hairnets, scurry fromcounter to stove, preparing quantities ofpasta and rice and ground meat. Over thecourse of the eight weeks, the trainees, theirteachers and the other volunteers learned towork together smoothly and efficiently andto cheer each other on, whether with akitchen project or other life challenges.

“The teachers have been great,” saidSanchez. “They make the material moreinteresting, and they motivate us … and wework together as a team, which is the mostimportant.”

—Helene Ragovin

THE FRIEDMAN SCHOOL’S CLASS OF 2006 WAS EASY TO SPOT, THANKS TO THOSE GRADUATES OF THE

Agriculture, Food and Environment program who decorated their mortarboards with thedistinctive black-and-white pattern of Holstein cows.

During the ceremonies on May 21 at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square, DeanEileen Kennedy welcomed the 80 degree recipients, whom she has often called “thefuture leaders in nutrition.” She pointed out three characteristics of people who havesucceeded in making a difference in the nutrition field: They take risks; they never stoplearning, and they have an undying enthusiasm for the work they do.

“It doesn’t matter whether they have been doing it for five years or 60 years, thepassion is still there,” she said.

In preparing for his commencement address, F. James Levinson, an associate profes-sor and director of the International Food and Nutrition Center, said he had surveyed students about their most memorable moments at the Friedman School. Their responsesranged from “working with inner-city kids in Native American communities in Wisconsin” to “loving nutritional epi so much that I was disappointed when the final exam was over,”he said. He ended with a quote from thefarmer and writer Wendell Berry: “Love theworld. Work for nothing. Take all that youhave and be poor. Love someone whodoes not deserve it…Ask the questionsthat have no answers.”

Aimee Witteman, who received anM.S. degree, drew upon one of the stu-dents’ favorite pastimes—gardening—inher class address: “We have waited outthe dark winter months, dreaming of ripeheirloom tomatoes and vibrant, sweet car-rots, and are poised to star t plantingseeds that, in a few months’ time, willyield such delights. Planting a garden,tending to it and harvesting do not involvehope as much as action. Committing one-self to social justice, nutrition science, food security and environmental health also requires us to act, not simply believe that better days will come. My purpose, then, is not to leave you with a sense of hope as much as a sense of action.”

At the all-university ceremony earlier in the day, seven-time Tour de France championLance Armstrong talked about his personal struggle in overcoming cancer and urgedmembers of the Class of 2006 to be active citizens. Tufts University President LawrenceS. Bacow presented honorary degrees to Armstrong, philanthropist and entrepreneurWilliam S. Cummings, A58; Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, U.S.M.C. (ret.), A56, whose 37-year military career included service in Kenya, Somalia and Iraq; evolutionist Lynn Margulis,whose revolutionary theory of inherited symbiotic bacteria and symbiosis in the evolu-tion of life caused profound changes in thinking about the origin of species; and theRev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, M76, pediatrician, pastor, medical missionary andhumanitarian who is leading the Million Voices for Darfur campaign.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3332 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTOS: JODI HILTON

ON CAMPUS NUTRITION SCHOOL NEWS

-

bling as fiercely as the stockpot of water on the industrial-size stove as asmall fleet of aspiring cooks sets about preparing dinner.

Alexander Diehl takes hold of a chef ’s knife and a large yellowonion. With careful, precise movements, he peels the papery skin andslices crosswise, gives a half-turn and slices again, the onion dissolvinginto a perfect dice.

Across the room, Will Hart examines a pyramid of summer-freshvegetables. “Don’t add too much water to the tomatoes and eggplant,”said Eleanor Heidkamp-Young, A08. “Remember, they’re going to giveoff a lot of water.”

When it’s done, this dinner—enough to feed about 75 people—won’t be served at a campus dining hall. It will be delivered by volun-teers to two shelters in Somerville and Cambridge. This meal isn’t justabout filling empty stomachs. The experience is bringing five job-train-ing students that much closer to their goal of becoming certified food-service workers.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Emerson Millien, ayoung Haitian immigrant who lives in Medford, Mass.

Double Duty

PARTNERS FOR CHANGEThe five trainees were the first participantsin a culinary job-training program thatTufts hosted for social-service clients thispast summer. The program is a partnershipbetween the Tisch College for Citizenshipand Public Service at Tufts and the Somer-ville Homeless Coalition, with assistancefrom Campus Kitchens, a nonprofit organ-ization that supports food-assistance activ-ities at colleges across the country.

The goal was to prepare the trainees topass a national exam, known as ServSafe,which certifies their knowledge of foodsafety and sanitation. “When you haveServSafe, you can go somewhere,” saidDiehl, who has worked in kitchens for sev-eral years but wants to move on to better-paying jobs within the industry.

The instructors were Heidkamp-Youngand Becky Locker, a Campus Kitchens in-tern from the University of California atSanta Cruz. Both undergrads received theirown ServSafe certification before the sum-mer program began, and over the course ofeight weeks, they taught thrice-weeklyclasses in food safety and sanitation.

Each week, the Carmichael team turnedout about 200 meals as they practiced theirkitchen skills. Those meals, in turn, wereused to fulfill emergency food needs atlocal shelters.

ADVICE TO GRADUATES:PURSUE YOUR PASSIONS WITH A SENSE OF ACTION

Culinary job-training program also feeds those in need

Trainee Emerson Millien and Becky Locker, aCampus Kitchens intern, chop fresh summer squashfor a meal that will be delivered to a local shelter.Above right, succulent scallions fall under the knife.

Trainee Emerson Millien and Becky Locker, aCampus Kitchens intern, chop fresh summer squashfor a meal that will be delivered to a local shelter.Above right, succulent scallions fall under the knife.

“Hunger is a huge issue in Somerville,”said Heidkamp-Young.“That really intrigu-ed me. It’s an area where I could make animmediate difference.” As an Active CitizenSummer Fellow, she was paired with theSomerville Homeless Coalition and workedwith coalition Director Mark Alston-Follansbee to develop the Tufts programover the course of the 2005-06 academicyear. (The program is also coordinated by asteering committee with representativesfrom Tufts and the coalition.)

“I always loved food, but I didn’t realizegoing into this that it would be so muchabout food and cooking,” Heidkamp-Young noted, referring not only to thehours spent in the kitchen, but the addi-tional time to scour cookbooks for recipesand to plan menus. The program reliedentirely on donated food, mainly fromFood for Free, a Cambridge-based non-profit that distributes unused food fromfarmers’ markets; Tufts Dining Servicesand the Danish Pastry House on BostonAvenue in Medford.

The trainees also received “life skills”training—how to put together a resume,conduct a job search or perform at a jobinterview. The trainees live in Somerville,Medford or Cambridge and were allreferred to the Tufts-Homeless Coalitionprogram by social service agencies.“They’re all transitioning,” said Heidkamp-Young. “They could all benefit from a sta-ble job. We’re giving them the skills to tryto pursue that.”

Back in the Carmichael kitchen, MariaSanchez and Murielle Mazaire, their hairtucked neatly into hairnets, scurry fromcounter to stove, preparing quantities ofpasta and rice and ground meat. Over thecourse of the eight weeks, the trainees, theirteachers and the other volunteers learned towork together smoothly and efficiently andto cheer each other on, whether with akitchen project or other life challenges.

“The teachers have been great,” saidSanchez. “They make the material moreinteresting, and they motivate us … and wework together as a team, which is the mostimportant.”

—Helene Ragovin

THE FRIEDMAN SCHOOL’S CLASS OF 2006 WAS EASY TO SPOT, THANKS TO THOSE GRADUATES OF THE

Agriculture, Food and Environment program who decorated their mortarboards with thedistinctive black-and-white pattern of Holstein cows.

During the ceremonies on May 21 at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square, DeanEileen Kennedy welcomed the 80 degree recipients, whom she has often called “thefuture leaders in nutrition.” She pointed out three characteristics of people who havesucceeded in making a difference in the nutrition field: They take risks; they never stoplearning, and they have an undying enthusiasm for the work they do.

“It doesn’t matter whether they have been doing it for five years or 60 years, thepassion is still there,” she said.

In preparing for his commencement address, F. James Levinson, an associate profes-sor and director of the International Food and Nutrition Center, said he had surveyed students about their most memorable moments at the Friedman School. Their responsesranged from “working with inner-city kids in Native American communities in Wisconsin” to “loving nutritional epi so much that I was disappointed when the final exam was over,”he said. He ended with a quote from thefarmer and writer Wendell Berry: “Love theworld. Work for nothing. Take all that youhave and be poor. Love someone whodoes not deserve it…Ask the questionsthat have no answers.”

Aimee Witteman, who received anM.S. degree, drew upon one of the stu-dents’ favorite pastimes—gardening—inher class address: “We have waited outthe dark winter months, dreaming of ripeheirloom tomatoes and vibrant, sweet car-rots, and are poised to star t plantingseeds that, in a few months’ time, willyield such delights. Planting a garden,tending to it and harvesting do not involvehope as much as action. Committing one-self to social justice, nutrition science, food security and environmental health also requires us to act, not simply believe that better days will come. My purpose, then, is not to leave you with a sense of hope as much as a sense of action.”

At the all-university ceremony earlier in the day, seven-time Tour de France championLance Armstrong talked about his personal struggle in overcoming cancer and urgedmembers of the Class of 2006 to be active citizens. Tufts University President LawrenceS. Bacow presented honorary degrees to Armstrong, philanthropist and entrepreneurWilliam S. Cummings, A58; Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, U.S.M.C. (ret.), A56, whose 37-year military career included service in Kenya, Somalia and Iraq; evolutionist Lynn Margulis,whose revolutionary theory of inherited symbiotic bacteria and symbiosis in the evolu-tion of life caused profound changes in thinking about the origin of species; and theRev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, M76, pediatrician, pastor, medical missionary andhumanitarian who is leading the Million Voices for Darfur campaign.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3332 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTOS: JODI HILTON

ON CAMPUS NUTRITION SCHOOL NEWS

-

bling as fiercely as the stockpot of water on the industrial-size stove as asmall fleet of aspiring cooks sets about preparing dinner.

Alexander Diehl takes hold of a chef ’s knife and a large yellowonion. With careful, precise movements, he peels the papery skin andslices crosswise, gives a half-turn and slices again, the onion dissolvinginto a perfect dice.

Across the room, Will Hart examines a pyramid of summer-freshvegetables. “Don’t add too much water to the tomatoes and eggplant,”said Eleanor Heidkamp-Young, A08. “Remember, they’re going to giveoff a lot of water.”

When it’s done, this dinner—enough to feed about 75 people—won’t be served at a campus dining hall. It will be delivered by volun-teers to two shelters in Somerville and Cambridge. This meal isn’t justabout filling empty stomachs. The experience is bringing five job-train-ing students that much closer to their goal of becoming certified food-service workers.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Emerson Millien, ayoung Haitian immigrant who lives in Medford, Mass.

Double Duty

PARTNERS FOR CHANGEThe five trainees were the first participantsin a culinary job-training program thatTufts hosted for social-service clients thispast summer. The program is a partnershipbetween the Tisch College for Citizenshipand Public Service at Tufts and the Somer-ville Homeless Coalition, with assistancefrom Campus Kitchens, a nonprofit organ-ization that supports food-assistance activ-ities at colleges across the country.

The goal was to prepare the trainees topass a national exam, known as ServSafe,which certifies their knowledge of foodsafety and sanitation. “When you haveServSafe, you can go somewhere,” saidDiehl, who has worked in kitchens for sev-eral years but wants to move on to better-paying jobs within the industry.

The instructors were Heidkamp-Youngand Becky Locker, a Campus Kitchens in-tern from the University of California atSanta Cruz. Both undergrads received theirown ServSafe certification before the sum-mer program began, and over the course ofeight weeks, they taught thrice-weeklyclasses in food safety and sanitation.

Each week, the Carmichael team turnedout about 200 meals as they practiced theirkitchen skills. Those meals, in turn, wereused to fulfill emergency food needs atlocal shelters.

ADVICE TO GRADUATES:PURSUE YOUR PASSIONS WITH A SENSE OF ACTION

Culinary job-training program also feeds those in need

Trainee Emerson Millien and Becky Locker, aCampus Kitchens intern, chop fresh summer squashfor a meal that will be delivered to a local shelter.Above right, succulent scallions fall under the knife.

Trainee Emerson Millien and Becky Locker, aCampus Kitchens intern, chop fresh summer squashfor a meal that will be delivered to a local shelter.Above right, succulent scallions fall under the knife.

nesses. The fellows will be encouraged touse this principle in at least one course theyteach. They will bring actual teachingmaterials to the seminars and see how theycan be improved to reach a diversity oflearners.”

“We’re not offering remedial training,”Jarvin said. “We’re not saying people don’tknow how to teach and that we have torevamp the system. But we want to offeropportunities to faculty to think about theirteaching and to enhance their teaching.”

DUAL MISSIONWhile PACE has been funded primarilywith grants, CELT’s funding comes from aseed grant from the Office of the Provost aswell as a $250,000 grant from the DavisEducation Foundation of Maine.

“Our dual mission as a university isteaching and scholarship,” said JamshedBharucha, provost and senior vice presi-dent. “At Tufts we pride ourselves on valu-ing both. Even as we advance our researchand scholarship, we must continue to strivefor excellence in teaching and renew our-selves as teachers in light of new research onthe process of learning, rapid developmentsin the fields we teach, changing demo-graphics of our students and new technol-ogy.” Bharucha said Associate Provost MaryLee will work on behalf of his office toencourage all campuses to participate in thenew center.

Anne Gardulski, associate professor andchair of geology and one of the first fel-lows, said she sometimes teaches courses of70 to 125 students and is trying to findways to better assess students in such alarge course.

“One of the huge challenges in suchcourses is to construct exams or otherassessment tools that indeed test what thestudents have learned,” Gardulski said.“Some students can respond well to essayquestions, others to short answer tests, andothers may have completely different waysof learning that traditional exams cannotevaluate.

CLASSROOM CREATIVITY“I am looking for ways to be more creativein devising exams, although there are time

constraints imposed by the fact that I donot have teaching assistant or grad studenthelp for grading, thus I cannot offer essayexams,” she said. “I also want to ensure thatI am requiring students to think about thescience. Graphs, maps, charts and otherrepresentations of data are an integral partof science, so I feel I need to include thesemechanisms for data work on exams.Ultimately, I suspect I will want to modifyhow I teach so that I can be more creativeand develop new ways to assess how stu-dents are synthesizing the material.”

Louise Maranda, who teaches biostatis-tics at the Cummings School of VeterinaryMedicine, applied for a fellowship, in part,she wrote in her application, to try to findways to reach students who come into hercourse with different backgrounds and atdifferent levels. An assistant professor inthe Department of Environmental and

Population Health, Maranda wrote in herapplication, “I am constantly grapplingwith the issue of either losing my studentsbecause I assume they know more thanthey really do or boring my audience totears by explaining concepts they alreadyunderstand.”

She said she hopes to learn how toassess her students’ prior knowledge, howto better develop lecture topics, and“understand the learning process to betterdevelop fun, meaningful and efficientexamples, homework and exams.”

Jarvin said the center also will serve as acentral clearinghouse for informationabout teaching initiatives. “There reallyisn’t a space for faculty members, especiallythose who are very committed to theirteaching, to reflect on these practices andmeet with other faculty to discuss them,”she said.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 35

ROBUST ENDOWMENT GROWTH

TUFTS UNIVERSITY’S ENDOWMENT GROWTH SIGNIFICANTLY OUTPACED ALL OF THE OTHER

major schools in Massachusetts, bolstered in part by two large donations,according to a report in the September 22 edition of the Boston BusinessJournal.

The Tufts endowment broke the billion-dollar mark during the 2006 fiscalyear, increasing by 34 percent to $1.2 billion. Tufts’ investments earned$90 million, or 13.9 percent, better than the median return of 10.8 percentof the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, the newspaper reported.

The change in school endowments is the net result of three factors: newdonations, withdrawals and investment gains. Overall, endowments at thestate’s major universities grew 14.9 percent, according to the businessnewspaper. The growth in Tufts’ endowment exceeded that of MIT (25 per-cent) and Harvard (12.7 percent), according to the newspaper.

Tufts’ gains resulted from $166 million in cash gifts given to the universi-ty, including a $100 million gift from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, A88, andhis wife Pam, J89, and a $40 million gift by Loews Corp. chairman and CEOJonathan Tisch, A76, to create the Tisch College of Citizenship and PublicService.

“This is a period of tremendous excitement and momentum,” Brian Lee,vice president for university advancement, told the Boston Business Journal.“This is a university poised.” Tufts generally spends 5 percent of its endow-ment on programs and scholarships, Lee said.

34 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: MELODY KO

-

lege psychology course, he got a C—not an auspicious start for some-one who eventually earned a Ph.D. in the field. The problem, herecalled more than 30 years later, was that his tests were all based onwhat students could memorize, and Sternberg is lousy at memoriza-tion. To add insult to injury, most of the material he had to learn isn’teven being taught in psychology anymore.

Sternberg may not have fared well on tests that relied on good mem-orization skills, but he did do well on tests that involved creativity orverbal ability. “I can tend to be very good in writing, but I’m relativelypoor in spatial visualization, so in my life, I capitalize on my verbalskills: I write a lot of articles, read a lot, give a lot of talks,” he said. “ButI bought a GPS system for my car, and I always make sure that I haveverbal directions when I go to a place because I don’t read maps thatwell. Nobody is good at everything, and people have to learn how tomake the most of their strengths and get by—either by compensatingfor or correcting weaknesses.”

Sternberg’s longstanding interest in different styles of learning result-

Out of the box ed in his founding the PACE Center at YaleUniversity, where he taught before comingto Tufts a year ago. PACE, which stands forPsychology of Abilities, Competencies andExpertise, advances the notion of abilities asmodifiable and capable of developmentover a lifetime.

Now Sternberg is taking his scholarshipone step further. He has brought PACE toTufts and has augmented it with a new uni-versity-wide program: the Center for theEnhancement of Learning and Teaching(CELT), which will draw on research atPACE.

THE FIRST 12 FELLOWSCELT will help faculty members becomebetter teachers through seminars, newslet-ters, discussions and workshops. “It’s notthat we are saying people here don’t knowhow to teach,” said Sternberg, who isCELT’s director. “The goal is to enhancealready good or even excellent teachingskills. We’re saying no matter how goodyou are, you can always be better.”

The signature program of the new cen-ter will be a weekly seminar for faculty fel-lows led by Molly Mead, the Lincoln FileneProfessor at Tisch College, and Linda Jar-vin, CELT’s deputy director, who didresearch in psychology and education atYale before coming to Tufts. A group of 12fellows from across the university will par-ticipate in the first seminar, starting inJanuary. Participants either will be granteda stipend or given a one-course reductionin their teaching loads.

Jennifer Sacheck, an assistant professorat the Friedman School, is among the firstgroup of fellows, chosen from a university-wide pool of 36 applicants who describedchallenges they are facing in the classroom.One faculty member wrote that he’d likehelp in making a dry, fact-based, introduc-tory course more interesting; a second isplanning to team teach and wants help inestablishing the course.

Sternberg said that while some studentslearn analytically, others may learn morepractically or creatively. The idea, he said, isto “teach kids in varied ways so that at anygiven time, some are capitalizing onstrengths and others are remediating weak-

UNIVERSITY NEWS THE WIDER WORLD OF TUFTS

New center will help faculty teach to a diversity of learning styles by Marjorie Howard

Latrice Goosby, a nutritional epidemiologystudent at the Friedman School, teaches abiostatistics class on the Boston campus.

nesses. The fellows will be encouraged touse this principle in at least one course theyteach. They will bring actual teachingmaterials to the seminars and see how theycan be improved to reach a diversity oflearners.”

“We’re not offering remedial training,”Jarvin said. “We’re not saying people don’tknow how to teach and that we have torevamp the system. But we want to offeropportunities to faculty to think about theirteaching and to enhance their teaching.”

DUAL MISSIONWhile PACE has been funded primarilywith grants, CELT’s funding comes from aseed grant from the Office of the Provost aswell as a $250,000 grant from the DavisEducation Foundation of Maine.

“Our dual mission as a university isteaching and scholarship,” said JamshedBharucha, provost and senior vice presi-dent. “At Tufts we pride ourselves on valu-ing both. Even as we advance our researchand scholarship, we must continue to strivefor excellence in teaching and renew our-selves as teachers in light of new research onthe process of learning, rapid developmentsin the fields we teach, changing demo-graphics of our students and new technol-ogy.” Bharucha said Associate Provost MaryLee will work on behalf of his office toencourage all campuses to participate in thenew center.

Anne Gardulski, associate professor andchair of geology and one of the first fel-lows, said she sometimes teaches courses of70 to 125 students and is trying to findways to better assess students in such alarge course.

“One of the huge challenges in suchcourses is to construct exams or otherassessment tools that indeed test what thestudents have learned,” Gardulski said.“Some students can respond well to essayquestions, others to short answer tests, andothers may have completely different waysof learning that traditional exams cannotevaluate.

CLASSROOM CREATIVITY“I am looking for ways to be more creativein devising exams, although there are time

constraints imposed by the fact that I donot have teaching assistant or grad studenthelp for grading, thus I cannot offer essayexams,” she said. “I also want to ensure thatI am requiring students to think about thescience. Graphs, maps, charts and otherrepresentations of data are an integral partof science, so I feel I need to include thesemechanisms for data work on exams.Ultimately, I suspect I will want to modifyhow I teach so that I can be more creativeand develop new ways to assess how stu-dents are synthesizing the material.”

Louise Maranda, who teaches biostatis-tics at the Cummings School of VeterinaryMedicine, applied for a fellowship, in part,she wrote in her application, to try to findways to reach students who come into hercourse with different backgrounds and atdifferent levels. An assistant professor inthe Department of Environmental and

Population Health, Maranda wrote in herapplication, “I am constantly grapplingwith the issue of either losing my studentsbecause I assume they know more thanthey really do or boring my audience totears by explaining concepts they alreadyunderstand.”

She said she hopes to learn how toassess her students’ prior knowledge, howto better develop lecture topics, and“understand the learning process to betterdevelop fun, meaningful and efficientexamples, homework and exams.”

Jarvin said the center also will serve as acentral clearinghouse for informationabout teaching initiatives. “There reallyisn’t a space for faculty members, especiallythose who are very committed to theirteaching, to reflect on these practices andmeet with other faculty to discuss them,”she said.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 35

ROBUST ENDOWMENT GROWTH

TUFTS UNIVERSITY’S ENDOWMENT GROWTH SIGNIFICANTLY OUTPACED ALL OF THE OTHER

major schools in Massachusetts, bolstered in part by two large donations,according to a report in the September 22 edition of the Boston BusinessJournal.

The Tufts endowment broke the billion-dollar mark during the 2006 fiscalyear, increasing by 34 percent to $1.2 billion. Tufts’ investments earned$90 million, or 13.9 percent, better than the median return of 10.8 percentof the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, the newspaper reported.

The change in school endowments is the net result of three factors: newdonations, withdrawals and investment gains. Overall, endowments at thestate’s major universities grew 14.9 percent, according to the businessnewspaper. The growth in Tufts’ endowment exceeded that of MIT (25 per-cent) and Harvard (12.7 percent), according to the newspaper.

Tufts’ gains resulted from $166 million in cash gifts given to the universi-ty, including a $100 million gift from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, A88, andhis wife Pam, J89, and a $40 million gift by Loews Corp. chairman and CEOJonathan Tisch, A76, to create the Tisch College of Citizenship and PublicService.

“This is a period of tremendous excitement and momentum,” Brian Lee,vice president for university advancement, told the Boston Business Journal.“This is a university poised.” Tufts generally spends 5 percent of its endow-ment on programs and scholarships, Lee said.

34 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: MELODY KO

-

lege psychology course, he got a C—not an auspicious start for some-one who eventually earned a Ph.D. in the field. The problem, herecalled more than 30 years later, was that his tests were all based onwhat students could memorize, and Sternberg is lousy at memoriza-tion. To add insult to injury, most of the material he had to learn isn’teven being taught in psychology anymore.

Sternberg may not have fared well on tests that relied on good mem-orization skills, but he did do well on tests that involved creativity orverbal ability. “I can tend to be very good in writing, but I’m relativelypoor in spatial visualization, so in my life, I capitalize on my verbalskills: I write a lot of articles, read a lot, give a lot of talks,” he said. “ButI bought a GPS system for my car, and I always make sure that I haveverbal directions when I go to a place because I don’t read maps thatwell. Nobody is good at everything, and people have to learn how tomake the most of their strengths and get by—either by compensatingfor or correcting weaknesses.”

Sternberg’s longstanding interest in different styles of learning result-

Out of the box ed in his founding the PACE Center at YaleUniversity, where he taught before comingto Tufts a year ago. PACE, which stands forPsychology of Abilities, Competencies andExpertise, advances the notion of abilities asmodifiable and capable of developmentover a lifetime.

Now Sternberg is taking his scholarshipone step further. He has brought PACE toTufts and has augmented it with a new uni-versity-wide program: the Center for theEnhancement of Learning and Teaching(CELT), which will draw on research atPACE.

THE FIRST 12 FELLOWSCELT will help faculty members becomebetter teachers through seminars, newslet-ters, discussions and workshops. “It’s notthat we are saying people here don’t knowhow to teach,” said Sternberg, who isCELT’s director. “The goal is to enhancealready good or even excellent teachingskills. We’re saying no matter how goodyou are, you can always be better.”

The signature program of the new cen-ter will be a weekly seminar for faculty fel-lows led by Molly Mead, the Lincoln FileneProfessor at Tisch College, and Linda Jar-vin, CELT’s deputy director, who didresearch in psychology and education atYale before coming to Tufts. A group of 12fellows from across the university will par-ticipate in the first seminar, starting inJanuary. Participants either will be granteda stipend or given a one-course reductionin their teaching loads.

Jennifer Sacheck, an assistant professorat the Friedman School, is among the firstgroup of fellows, chosen from a university-wide pool of 36 applicants who describedchallenges they are facing in the classroom.One faculty member wrote that he’d likehelp in making a dry, fact-based, introduc-tory course more interesting; a second isplanning to team teach and wants help inestablishing the course.

Sternberg said that while some studentslearn analytically, others may learn morepractically or creatively. The idea, he said, isto “teach kids in varied ways so that at anygiven time, some are capitalizing onstrengths and others are remediating weak-

UNIVERSITY NEWS THE WIDER WORLD OF TUFTS

New center will help faculty teach to a diversity of learning styles by Marjorie Howard

Latrice Goosby, a nutritional epidemiologystudent at the Friedman School, teaches abiostatistics class on the Boston campus.

kidney stones and interfere with the absorp-tion of other minerals, particularly iron.More recent studies have found that calciumis not connected with kidney stones and thatwhile calcium initially may interfere withiron absorption, in the long run, calciumsupplements have no effect on iron status inhealthy adults.

Calcium’s complement, vitamin D, hasbeen the career’s work of Bruce Hollis, aprofessor in the departments of Pediatricsand Biochemistry and Molecular Biology atthe Medical University of South Carolina.The unfortunate bottom line: “We all needmore, a lot more, than we are getting rightnow,” he said.

The current “adequate intake” for vita-min D is 200 International Units per day,which Hollis calls “absolutely insignifi-cant.” That amount may be enough to pre-

vent rickets, the disease the causes fragileand deformed bones, but there are indica-tions that vitamin D may play a significantrole in keeping the immune system healthy.

“The skeleton seems to be OK at theselower levels,” he said. “That doesn’t meanthat these other systems are. You have tothink beyond skeletal effects when you thinkabout vitamin D.”

Hollis also talked about sun exposure—the “elegant system nature gave us to createvitamin D.” But geography and habit pre-vent many people from taking advantage ofit. “In a place like Boston, from October toMarch, even if you were outside with noclothes on a bright sunny day, the energy ofthe sun is not enough to initiate” the pro-duction of vitamin D, Hollis said. “Andthat’s in a Caucasian. If you’re African Am-erican, it’s much worse.”

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3736 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

ALUMNI NEWS STAYING CONNECTED

PHOTOS: JODI HILTON

affecting safety. The two never come toge-ther in a nice, clean relationship.”

Folic acid fortification, for example,raises questions for Barry Shane, professorand chair of the Department of NutritionSciences and Toxicology at the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley. Recognizing that ade-quate folic acid intake in women of child-bearing age could significantly cut theoccurrence of neural tube defects in babies,the FDA required that enriched cereal grainsbe fortified with the vitamin, also known asB9, by 1998. It had been known for sometime that folate could mask B12 deficiency,and vitamins with large doses of folic acid inthem had been unavailable. “For 50 years,there were never any studies to look foradverse effects,” Shane said. “If you don’tlook for anything, you don’t find anything.

“Once you start treating 270 millionpeople, I think you have to make someeffort to study is it really safe?” he added.

Scientists are now looking at whetherfolic acid may cause epigenetic changes—those that don’t affect the gene’s DNAsequence but can change the gene, and itsinteractions, in other ways.

Connie Weaver, Distinguished Professorand head of the Department of Food andNutrition at Purdue University, turned thediscussion to calcium, which Americans arenow finding in all sorts of fortified foods—from orange juice to chocolate syrup.Traditionally, of course, consumers havegotten most of their calcium from dairyproducts, which also provide vitamin D,magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin A, phos-phorus and potassium. Weaver pointed outthat it is particularly hard for people tomeet their potassium requirement in a dietwithout dairy.

“Fortified foods have been introducedin large numbers to try to fill the gap forcalcium, but are they filling the gap for allthese other things?” she asked.

Weaver also addressed previous researchthat showed a high calcium intake can cause

“

made with great controversy,” said Elizabeth Yetley, a senior nutritionresearch scientist at the National Institutes of Health. “And the contro-versy evolves from the fact that the decisions are always made with hugegaps in our information database.” Although such decisions are basedas much as possible on wise scientific judgment, she said, there neverseems to be enough evidence to completely avoid reservations.

Making sure Americans get their daily doses of important micronu-trients—either through mandatory fortification, government recom-mendation or industry efforts—is not exactly straightforward. Expertsdiscussed some of the questions that linger around even the mostestablished vitamin and mineral policies during the 2006 GershoffSymposium. This year’s topic: “Toward a Healthier Nation: Complexi-ties of Optimizing Micronutrient Intakes in the U.S. Diet.”

Yetley, who spent more than 20 years at the FDA and served as theagency’s lead scientist for nutrition, said that a national fortificationprogram has to be both effective for the consumers who need the for-tification the most and safe for everyone else.

“These become competing demands,” she said.“You can never achieve100 percent effectiveness for your target without somehow, perhaps,

The Goldilocks Conundrum

When it comes to micronutrients, how much is just right? by Julie Flaherty

This year’s Gershoff Symposium speakers and the Gershoff Scholars join Dean Emeritus Stanley Gershoff and Gershoff Professor AliceLichtenstein. Front row from left:Gershoff, Lichtenstein, Elizabeth Yetley, Connie Weaver, ToshikoTanaka, Heather Mernitz, WendyJohnecheck and Sarah Anderson.Back row from left: Barry Shane,Bruce Hollis, Latrice Goosby, JosiemerMattei, Hilde Petersen, Sam Cadenaand Maina Muthee.

Front row, from left, Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg, the Jean Mayer UniversityProfessor of Nutrition; Alice H. Lichten-stein, the Stanley N. Gershoff Profes-sor of Nutrition Science and Policy;and Stanley Gershoff, dean emeritus.

kidney stones and interfere with the absorp-tion of other minerals, particularly iron.More recent studies have found that calciumis not connected with kidney stones and thatwhile calcium initially may interfere withiron absorption, in the long run, calciumsupplements have no effect on iron status inhealthy adults.

Calcium’s complement, vitamin D, hasbeen the career’s work of Bruce Hollis, aprofessor in the departments of Pediatricsand Biochemistry and Molecular Biology atthe Medical University of South Carolina.The unfortunate bottom line: “We all needmore, a lot more, than we are getting rightnow,” he said.

The current “adequate intake” for vita-min D is 200 International Units per day,which Hollis calls “absolutely insignifi-cant.” That amount may be enough to pre-

vent rickets, the disease the causes fragileand deformed bones, but there are indica-tions that vitamin D may play a significantrole in keeping the immune system healthy.

“The skeleton seems to be OK at theselower levels,” he said. “That doesn’t meanthat these other systems are. You have tothink beyond skeletal effects when you thinkabout vitamin D.”

Hollis also talked about sun exposure—the “elegant system nature gave us to createvitamin D.” But geography and habit pre-vent many people from taking advantage ofit. “In a place like Boston, from October toMarch, even if you were outside with noclothes on a bright sunny day, the energy ofthe sun is not enough to initiate” the pro-duction of vitamin D, Hollis said. “Andthat’s in a Caucasian. If you’re African Am-erican, it’s much worse.”

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3736 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

ALUMNI NEWS STAYING CONNECTED

PHOTOS: JODI HILTON

affecting safety. The two never come toge-ther in a nice, clean relationship.”

Folic acid fortification, for example,raises questions for Barry Shane, professorand chair of the Department of NutritionSciences and Toxicology at the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley. Recognizing that ade-quate folic acid intake in women of child-bearing age could significantly cut theoccurrence of neural tube defects in babies,the FDA required that enriched cereal grainsbe fortified with the vitamin, also known asB9, by 1998. It had been known for sometime that folate could mask B12 deficiency,and vitamins with large doses of folic acid inthem had been unavailable. “For 50 years,there were never any studies to look foradverse effects,” Shane said. “If you don’tlook for anything, you don’t find anything.

“Once you start treating 270 millionpeople, I think you have to make someeffort to study is it really safe?” he added.

Scientists are now looking at whetherfolic acid may cause epigenetic changes—those that don’t affect the gene’s DNAsequence but can change the gene, and itsinteractions, in other ways.

Connie Weaver, Distinguished Professorand head of the Department of Food andNutrition at Purdue University, turned thediscussion to calcium, which Americans arenow finding in all sorts of fortified foods—from orange juice to chocolate syrup.Traditionally, of course, consumers havegotten most of their calcium from dairyproducts, which also provide vitamin D,magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin A, phos-phorus and potassium. Weaver pointed outthat it is particularly hard for people tomeet their potassium requirement in a dietwithout dairy.

“Fortified foods have been introducedin large numbers to try to fill the gap forcalcium, but are they filling the gap for allthese other things?” she asked.

Weaver also addressed previous researchthat showed a high calcium intake can cause

“

made with great controversy,” said Elizabeth Yetley, a senior nutritionresearch scientist at the National Institutes of Health. “And the contro-versy evolves from the fact that the decisions are always made with hugegaps in our information database.” Although such decisions are basedas much as possible on wise scientific judgment, she said, there neverseems to be enough evidence to completely avoid reservations.

Making sure Americans get their daily doses of important micronu-trients—either through mandatory fortification, government recom-mendation or industry efforts—is not exactly straightforward. Expertsdiscussed some of the questions that linger around even the mostestablished vitamin and mineral policies during the 2006 GershoffSymposium. This year’s topic: “Toward a Healthier Nation: Complexi-ties of Optimizing Micronutrient Intakes in the U.S. Diet.”

Yetley, who spent more than 20 years at the FDA and served as theagency’s lead scientist for nutrition, said that a national fortificationprogram has to be both effective for the consumers who need the for-tification the most and safe for everyone else.

“These become competing demands,” she said.“You can never achieve100 percent effectiveness for your target without somehow, perhaps,

The Goldilocks Conundrum

When it comes to micronutrients, how much is just right? by Julie Flaherty

This year’s Gershoff Symposium speakers and the Gershoff Scholars join Dean Emeritus Stanley Gershoff and Gershoff Professor AliceLichtenstein. Front row from left:Gershoff, Lichtenstein, Elizabeth Yetley, Connie Weaver, ToshikoTanaka, Heather Mernitz, WendyJohnecheck and Sarah Anderson.Back row from left: Barry Shane,Bruce Hollis, Latrice Goosby, JosiemerMattei, Hilde Petersen, Sam Cadenaand Maina Muthee.

Front row, from left, Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg, the Jean Mayer UniversityProfessor of Nutrition; Alice H. Lichten-stein, the Stanley N. Gershoff Profes-sor of Nutrition Science and Policy;and Stanley Gershoff, dean emeritus.

-

ferent parts of the country and divergent set-tings, from Capitol Hill to a universityclassroom to the Red Sox clubhouse. Butwhen they came back to share their experi-ences with the next generation of nutritionleaders at the 2006 alumni career panel, theyall had similar lessons to pass along.

Sarah Ash, N82, N86, a member of theschool’s first graduating class, is now an asso-ciate professor of nutrition at North CarolinaState University. But the road to academia was not a straight one.Shortly after graduating, she moved to North Carolina with her hus-band and two children. Eventually, she took a biochemistry job at theuniversity.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in bench [science] work, but it got meout of the house,” she said. Then she met a faculty member who wasteaching a human nutrition class. “I said, ‘If you ever want to leave yourjob, call me up,’ ” Ash recalled. The call came three months later.

“One of the lessons I learned—and that I try to tell my own stu-dents—is that sometimes you take that job that’s not necessarily thejob you thought you were going to have when you first went to grad-uate school,” Ash said. “Sometimes what you just need to do is get outthere. Then you have those experiences that just work—or you makethem happen.”

Tara Mardigan, N02, MPH02, has a knack for making things happenin her career. While working as a dietitian at the Dana Farber CancerInstitute, she attended an event where she wound up sitting next to

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3938 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

ALUMNI NEWS STAYING CONNECTED

PHOTOS: JODI HILTON

1 Karen Palmer, N03; Kim Dong, N02; Kara Becker, N02; VanessaCavallaro, N03; Abby Usen, N03; and Mary-Jon Ludy, N04

2 Two accomplished graduates were presented with the 2006 alumniawards: Ram Shrestha, N90, left, and Susan Holman, N83, second fromleft, shown here with Dean Eileen Kennedy and Reunion Chair AnnMcDermott, N02. Shrestha received the Frontline Award for his work inimproving the vitamin A status of Nepalese citizens. Holman receivedthe Service to the Profession Award for her studies of poverty and theirconnections to nutrition.

3 This year’s reunion featured an educational program on the “Latest andGreatest in Nutrition.” Virginia Chomitz, N85, N92, a senior scientist atthe Cambridge Health Alliance, was one of the alumni presenters.

4 On Saturday, April 22, alumni and students enjoyed a cocktail receptionand performance by comedian Jimmy Tingle.

5 Haewook Han, N86, N00; Andrew Shao, N00; and Karen Palmer, N03,with Stanley Gershoff, second from left, dean emeritus, at the careerpanel during reunion weekend.

SCENES FROM REUNION 2006

Career CoachingAlumni recount the many roads taken to that perfect job by Julie Flaherty

1

2

3

4

5

Tara Mardigan, N02, MPH02, andKate Houston, N99, offer careeradvice to Friedman School students.

Sarah Ash, N82, N86

Stacey Lucchino, wife of Red Sox chiefexecutive Larry Lucchino. She put togethera proposal to consult for the team aboutnutrition. Although they turned her downat first (“They said, ‘We think nutrition isnice, but we don’t think it’s essential.’ ”),she eventually won them over. She’s nowthe team’s nutritionist in addition to herwork with cancer patients.

“For me, cancer nutrition is very simi-lar to sports nutrition,” Mardigan said.“There is a lot about how you can fuelyour body the best and get through a chal-lenging time.”

Kate Houston, N99, knew that shewanted to work in Washington, D.C., ondomestic policy even before she becameinterested in nutrition. She spent four yearsat the Council for Responsible Nutritionbefore enrolling at the Friedman School.After graduation, she moved back to D.C.and worked for the American Dietetic As-sociation for almost two years. Then she gota call that a policy advisor position with theHouse Committee on Education and theWorkforce was opening. She jumped at it.She sees herself as an internal advocate forchange. “There’s a tremendous need forpeople with nutrition expertise in a numberof places in government.”

All three panelists pursued more thantheir coursework during their time atFriedman. Houston did a summer policyinternship at the National Academy ofSciences in D.C. “I thought that was a fan-tastic opportunity—to go to where youwant to go location-wise in the field—tojust immerse yourself and get to know asmany people as you can.” Ash ghost-wrotecolumns for what was then the Tufts Dietand Nutrition Letter. “It made me feel moreinvolved in the field itself, and I’ve used alot of those writing skills to help my ownstudents.” Mardigan, ever the self-starter,created and manned a nutrition informa-tion booth at a Cambridge gym. “That wasjust getting my feet wet in sports nutri-tion,” she said. “It wasn’t paid, but I got afree membership.”

-

ferent parts of the country and divergent set-tings, from Capitol Hill to a universityclassroom to the Red Sox clubhouse. Butwhen they came back to share their experi-ences with the next generation of nutritionleaders at the 2006 alumni career panel, theyall had similar lessons to pass along.

Sarah Ash, N82, N86, a member of theschool’s first graduating class, is now an asso-ciate professor of nutrition at North CarolinaState University. But the road to academia was not a straight one.Shortly after graduating, she moved to North Carolina with her hus-band and two children. Eventually, she took a biochemistry job at theuniversity.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in bench [science] work, but it got meout of the house,” she said. Then she met a faculty member who wasteaching a human nutrition class. “I said, ‘If you ever want to leave yourjob, call me up,’ ” Ash recalled. The call came three months later.

“One of the lessons I learned—and that I try to tell my own stu-dents—is that sometimes you take that job that’s not necessarily thejob you thought you were going to have when you first went to grad-uate school,” Ash said. “Sometimes what you just need to do is get outthere. Then you have those experiences that just work—or you makethem happen.”

Tara Mardigan, N02, MPH02, has a knack for making things happenin her career. While working as a dietitian at the Dana Farber CancerInstitute, she attended an event where she wound up sitting next to

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 3938 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

ALUMNI NEWS STAYING CONNECTED

PHOTOS: JODI HILTON

1 Karen Palmer, N03; Kim Dong, N02; Kara Becker, N02; VanessaCavallaro, N03; Abby Usen, N03; and Mary-Jon Ludy, N04

2 Two accomplished graduates were presented with the 2006 alumniawards: Ram Shrestha, N90, left, and Susan Holman, N83, second fromleft, shown here with Dean Eileen Kennedy and Reunion Chair AnnMcDermott, N02. Shrestha received the Frontline Award for his work inimproving the vitamin A status of Nepalese citizens. Holman receivedthe Service to the Profession Award for her studies of poverty and theirconnections to nutrition.

3 This year’s reunion featured an educational program on the “Latest andGreatest in Nutrition.” Virginia Chomitz, N85, N92, a senior scientist atthe Cambridge Health Alliance, was one of the alumni presenters.

4 On Saturday, April 22, alumni and students enjoyed a cocktail receptionand performance by comedian Jimmy Tingle.

5 Haewook Han, N86, N00; Andrew Shao, N00; and Karen Palmer, N03,with Stanley Gershoff, second from left, dean emeritus, at the careerpanel during reunion weekend.

SCENES FROM REUNION 2006

Career CoachingAlumni recount the many roads taken to that perfect job by Julie Flaherty

1

2

3

4

5

Tara Mardigan, N02, MPH02, andKate Houston, N99, offer careeradvice to Friedman School students.

Sarah Ash, N82, N86

Stacey Lucchino, wife of Red Sox chiefexecutive Larry Lucchino. She put togethera proposal to consult for the team aboutnutrition. Although they turned her downat first (“They said, ‘We think nutrition isnice, but we don’t think it’s essential.’ ”),she eventually won them over. She’s nowthe team’s nutritionist in addition to herwork with cancer patients.

“For me, cancer nutrition is very simi-lar to sports nutrition,” Mardigan said.“There is a lot about how you can fuelyour body the best and get through a chal-lenging time.”

Kate Houston, N99, knew that shewanted to work in Washington, D.C., ondomestic policy even before she becameinterested in nutrition. She spent four yearsat the Council for Responsible Nutritionbefore enrolling at the Friedman School.After graduation, she moved back to D.C.and worked for the American Dietetic As-sociation for almost two years. Then she gota call that a policy advisor position with theHouse Committee on Education and theWorkforce was opening. She jumped at it.She sees herself as an internal advocate forchange. “There’s a tremendous need forpeople with nutrition expertise in a numberof places in government.”

All three panelists pursued more thantheir coursework during their time atFriedman. Houston did a summer policyinternship at the National Academy ofSciences in D.C. “I thought that was a fan-tastic opportunity—to go to where youwant to go location-wise in the field—tojust immerse yourself and get to know asmany people as you can.” Ash ghost-wrotecolumns for what was then the Tufts Dietand Nutrition Letter. “It made me feel moreinvolved in the field itself, and I’ve used alot of those writing skills to help my ownstudents.” Mardigan, ever the self-starter,created and manned a nutrition informa-tion booth at a Cambridge gym. “That wasjust getting my feet wet in sports nutri-tion,” she said. “It wasn’t paid, but I got afree membership.”

Elizabeth Pellegrino traveledwith the Tufts Travel-LearnProgram to Italy’s Lake Districtin May. She and her husband,Nicholas Pellegrino, D59,enjoyed a nine-day journey thatincluded a visit to Milan and awalking tour of Pallanza.

Patricia Plummer has beennamed the interim chancellor ofthe Massachusetts Board ofHigher Education, overseeing 29public schools and a budget ofnearly $1 billion.

Aviva Must, N92, J01P, A03P,is the recipient of the 2006Milton O. and Natalie V. ZuckerPrize from Tufts UniversitySchool of Medicine. The awardis given to a woman scientist foroutstanding research. Sheserved as co-chair of the 2006scientific meeting of NASSO/The Obesity Society. Must isan associate professor in theDepartment of Public Healthand Family Medicine at theSchool of Medicine and at theFriedman School of NutritionScience and Policy. She is alsoa scientist in the NutritionalEpidemiology Program at theJean Mayer USDA HumanNutrition Research Center onAging (HNRCA) at Tufts.

Kavita Sethuraman co-authoredthe article, “Women’sEmpowerment and DomesticViolence: The Role ofSociocultural Determinants inMaternal and ChildUndernutrition in Tribal and

Rural Communities in SouthIndia,” which was published inthe June 2006 edition of theFood and Nutrition Bulletin. Herresearch found that malnutritionin mothers and children islinked to domestic violenceagainst women. She is a nutri-tionist at the InternationalCenter for Research on Women.

Xiang-Dong Wang, a professorat the Friedman School anddirector of the HNRCA Nutritionand Cancer Biology Laboratoryat Tufts, presented the invitedElkin Lecture on “CarotenoidParadox in Cancer Prevention”at the Winship Cancer Instituteat Emory University on June 30.He gave a talk on “Alcohol,Retinoids and HepatocellularCancer” during the InternationalSociety for Biomedical Researchon Alcoholism 2006 WorldCongress September 10–13 inSydney, Australia.

Lauri Jacobs co-authored thebook The Light Life Program, a31-lesson workbook for familieswith overweight children.

Lisa M. Freeman, J86, V91,associate professor of clinicalsciences at the CummingsSchool of Veterinary Medicineat Tufts, was chosen as the2006 recipient of theOutstanding Alumna Award atthe veterinary school’s reunionon September 7. A tripleJumbo, Freeman received herB.S. from Tufts, her D.V.M. fromthe Cummings School and herPh.D. in nutrition from theFriedman School. She complet-ed a small animal internship atNorth Carolina State Universitybefore doing a residency in clini-cal nutrition at Tufts. She wasboard-certified by the AmericanCollege of Veterinary Nutrition in

1997 and has been on the faculty at the Cummings Schoolsince 1996. Her research focushas been on the nutritionalmodulation of cardiac diseasein dogs and cats.

Patricia Bannan was featuredon NBC’s “Today” show in Junein a segment about Starbucksselling fruity drinks for kids.

Yasmin A. Almubarak Altwaijriwas featured in an AssociatedPress article in May about theobesity rates of women in SaudiArabia and the obstacleswomen and girls face to workingout as a result of culturalnorms. Altwaijri works in theEpidemiology Research Unit atthe King Faisal SpecialistHospital and Research Center inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia.

ALUMNI NEWS CLASS NOTES

Malia Wagner Curran, M02,has started a nutrition consult-ing business, Malia’s Whole-some Health (www.Malias-WholesomeHealth.com) Sheteaches families how to shopand cook in healthy ways.

Ann Yelmokas McDermott, project director for the BostonObesity, Genetics and LifestyleStudy at the Jean Mayer USDAHuman Nutrition Research Cen-ter on Aging at Tufts, competedin the XI FINA World MastersSwim Championships, whichtook place August 4–13 in theOlympic-sized pool at StanfordUniversity in Palo Alto, Calif.More than 7,300 swimmers,water polo players, synchronizedswimmers and divers, ages 25to 100, from 75 countries partic-ipated, including more than 100former Olympians. “It was quiteinspirational to see world recordsfall right and left at all ages,”McDermott said, noting that 161world records were broken at the

international meet. To compete,swimmers had to achieve timequalifying standards based ontheir age, which “led to a verytight and competitive field ofswimmers,” said McDermott,who trains with the New EnglandMasters Swim Club. McDermottcompeted in five individualevents—100- and 200-meterbreaststroke and 50-, 200- and800-meter freestyle—and onthree relays. She finished 20thoverall in the 200-meter breast-stroke, and her times also earn-ed her second or third place inthe New England Masters LongCourse Meters records forwomen ages 50 to 54.

Jennifer (Freitas) Carter is anoutpatient dietitian at theFaulkner Hospital in JamaicaPlain, Mass.

Mary-Jon Ludy married DavidProuix on July 1, 2006. She is

a clinical dietitian at the Massa-chusetts General Hospital.

Erin Michele Boyd worked inEthiopia as an emergency nutritionist in 2005–06. Sherecently worked as a consultantto UNICEF on humanitarianresponse in Kosovo and is con-ducting a nutrition survey in theSudan this fall for UNICEF.

After graduation, CatherineCulleton worked as a nutritionconsultant for California’s WICProgram. Culleton just got a newposition as the clinic/communi-ty nutritionist at the NativeAmerican Health Center inSacramento, Calif.

Howard Goldstein completedhis dietetic internship at theUniversity of California at SanFrancisco.

Fanfan Han is part of the foodsafety program for the Beijing2008 Olympic Games, workingwith the Beijing Administrationfor Food Safety and the BeijingAdministration for Industry andCommerce in China.

Anna Herforth married DanielKim on June 30, 2006. She ispursuing a doctoral degree atCornell University.

Kelly Horton completed herdietetic internship at SimmonsCollege and then consulted forConcern Worldwide on its UrbanNutrition and Household FoodSecurity Program in Bangladesh.

Zeina Maalouf is pursuing adoctoral degree at the Universityof California at Davis.

Isabelita Mendoza, M05,completed her dietetic intern-ship at the Brigham andWomen’s Hospital in Boston.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 41400 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: CINDY BRIGGS TOBIN

KEEP YOU CLASSMATES UP TO DATEWe want to hear from you! Have you changed jobs? Experienced life changes?

Fulfilled a dream? Keep Tufts and your fellow alums up to date by sharing your news.

Name

Class

Street

City

State Zip E-mail address:

Home telephone: Business telephone:

Check here if address is new.

Send to:

Cindy Briggs Tobin, Tufts Friedman Nutrition Fund and Alumni Relations, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111

or send to the alumni section of the school’s website at www.nutrition.tufts.edu

C L A S S N O T E S D E A D L I N E F O R N E X T I S S U E I S M A R C H 1 , 2 0 0 7

FAMILY PICNICGeeta Krishna, N89, helpedkick off the new academic yearat the Friedman School by host-ing an alumni-student picnic ather home in September. Morethan 30 alumni, students, facul-ty and friends attended. Krishna,her husband, BC, and childrenNikhil and Tara are pictured herewith former faculty member JohnField and Prof. Bea Rogers.

Elizabeth Pellegrino traveledwith the Tufts Travel-LearnProgram to Italy’s Lake Districtin May. She and her husband,Nicholas Pellegrino, D59,enjoyed a nine-day journey thatincluded a visit to Milan and awalking tour of Pallanza.

Patricia Plummer has beennamed the interim chancellor ofthe Massachusetts Board ofHigher Education, overseeing 29public schools and a budget ofnearly $1 billion.

Aviva Must, N92, J01P, A03P,is the recipient of the 2006Milton O. and Natalie V. ZuckerPrize from Tufts UniversitySchool of Medicine. The awardis given to a woman scientist foroutstanding research. Sheserved as co-chair of the 2006scientific meeting of NASSO/The Obesity Society. Must isan associate professor in theDepartment of Public Healthand Family Medicine at theSchool of Medicine and at theFriedman School of NutritionScience and Policy. She is alsoa scientist in the NutritionalEpidemiology Program at theJean Mayer USDA HumanNutrition Research Center onAging (HNRCA) at Tufts.

Kavita Sethuraman co-authoredthe article, “Women’sEmpowerment and DomesticViolence: The Role ofSociocultural Determinants inMaternal and ChildUndernutrition in Tribal and

Rural Communities in SouthIndia,” which was published inthe June 2006 edition of theFood and Nutrition Bulletin. Herresearch found that malnutritionin mothers and children islinked to domestic violenceagainst women. She is a nutri-tionist at the InternationalCenter for Research on Women.

Xiang-Dong Wang, a professorat the Friedman School anddirector of the HNRCA Nutritionand Cancer Biology Laboratoryat Tufts, presented the invitedElkin Lecture on “CarotenoidParadox in Cancer Prevention”at the Winship Cancer Instituteat Emory University on June 30.He gave a talk on “Alcohol,Retinoids and HepatocellularCancer” during the InternationalSociety for Biomedical Researchon Alcoholism 2006 WorldCongress September 10–13 inSydney, Australia.

Lauri Jacobs co-authored thebook The Light Life Program, a31-lesson workbook for familieswith overweight children.

Lisa M. Freeman, J86, V91,associate professor of clinicalsciences at the CummingsSchool of Veterinary Medicineat Tufts, was chosen as the2006 recipient of theOutstanding Alumna Award atthe veterinary school’s reunionon September 7. A tripleJumbo, Freeman received herB.S. from Tufts, her D.V.M. fromthe Cummings School and herPh.D. in nutrition from theFriedman School. She complet-ed a small animal internship atNorth Carolina State Universitybefore doing a residency in clini-cal nutrition at Tufts. She wasboard-certified by the AmericanCollege of Veterinary Nutrition in

1997 and has been on the faculty at the Cummings Schoolsince 1996. Her research focushas been on the nutritionalmodulation of cardiac diseasein dogs and cats.

Patricia Bannan was featuredon NBC’s “Today” show in Junein a segment about Starbucksselling fruity drinks for kids.

Yasmin A. Almubarak Altwaijriwas featured in an AssociatedPress article in May about theobesity rates of women in SaudiArabia and the obstacleswomen and girls face to workingout as a result of culturalnorms. Altwaijri works in theEpidemiology Research Unit atthe King Faisal SpecialistHospital and Research Center inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia.

ALUMNI NEWS CLASS NOTES

Malia Wagner Curran, M02,has started a nutrition consult-ing business, Malia’s Whole-some Health (www.Malias-WholesomeHealth.com) Sheteaches families how to shopand cook in healthy ways.

Ann Yelmokas McDermott, project director for the BostonObesity, Genetics and LifestyleStudy at the Jean Mayer USDAHuman Nutrition Research Cen-ter on Aging at Tufts, competedin the XI FINA World MastersSwim Championships, whichtook place August 4–13 in theOlympic-sized pool at StanfordUniversity in Palo Alto, Calif.More than 7,300 swimmers,water polo players, synchronizedswimmers and divers, ages 25to 100, from 75 countries partic-ipated, including more than 100former Olympians. “It was quiteinspirational to see world recordsfall right and left at all ages,”McDermott said, noting that 161world records were broken at the

international meet. To compete,swimmers had to achieve timequalifying standards based ontheir age, which “led to a verytight and competitive field ofswimmers,” said McDermott,who trains with the New EnglandMasters Swim Club. McDermottcompeted in five individualevents—100- and 200-meterbreaststroke and 50-, 200- and800-meter freestyle—and onthree relays. She finished 20thoverall in the 200-meter breast-stroke, and her times also earn-ed her second or third place inthe New England Masters LongCourse Meters records forwomen ages 50 to 54.

Jennifer (Freitas) Carter is anoutpatient dietitian at theFaulkner Hospital in JamaicaPlain, Mass.

Mary-Jon Ludy married DavidProuix on July 1, 2006. She is

a clinical dietitian at the Massa-chusetts General Hospital.

Erin Michele Boyd worked inEthiopia as an emergency nutritionist in 2005–06. Sherecently worked as a consultantto UNICEF on humanitarianresponse in Kosovo and is con-ducting a nutrition survey in theSudan this fall for UNICEF.

After graduation, CatherineCulleton worked as a nutritionconsultant for California’s WICProgram. Culleton just got a newposition as the clinic/communi-ty nutritionist at the NativeAmerican Health Center inSacramento, Calif.

Howard Goldstein completedhis dietetic internship at theUniversity of California at SanFrancisco.

Fanfan Han is part of the foodsafety program for the Beijing2008 Olympic Games, workingwith the Beijing Administrationfor Food Safety and the BeijingAdministration for Industry andCommerce in China.

Anna Herforth married DanielKim on June 30, 2006. She ispursuing a doctoral degree atCornell University.

Kelly Horton completed herdietetic internship at SimmonsCollege and then consulted forConcern Worldwide on its UrbanNutrition and Household FoodSecurity Program in Bangladesh.

Zeina Maalouf is pursuing adoctoral degree at the Universityof California at Davis.

Isabelita Mendoza, M05,completed her dietetic intern-ship at the Brigham andWomen’s Hospital in Boston.

w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n 41400 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6 PHOTO: CINDY BRIGGS TOBIN

KEEP YOU CLASSMATES UP TO DATEWe want to hear from you! Have you changed jobs? Experienced life changes?

Fulfilled a dream? Keep Tufts and your fellow alums up to date by sharing your news.

Name

Class

Street

City

State Zip E-mail address:

Home telephone: Business telephone:

Check here if address is new.

Send to:

Cindy Briggs Tobin, Tufts Friedman Nutrition Fund and Alumni Relations, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111

or send to the alumni section of the school’s website at www.nutrition.tufts.edu

C L A S S N O T E S D E A D L I N E F O R N E X T I S S U E I S M A R C H 1 , 2 0 0 7

FAMILY PICNICGeeta Krishna, N89, helpedkick off the new academic yearat the Friedman School by host-ing an alumni-student picnic ather home in September. Morethan 30 alumni, students, facul-ty and friends attended. Krishna,her husband, BC, and childrenNikhil and Tara are pictured herewith former faculty member JohnField and Prof. Bea Rogers.

ALUMNI NEWS CLASS NOTES

42 t u f t s n u t r i t i o n w i n t e r 2 0 0 6

Grace Phelan is working as aclinical dietitian at Tufts–NewEngland Medical Center.

Patrick Racsa is pursuing asecond master’s degree, thisone in international economics,at Baylor University in Waco,Texas.

Abigail Kaplan Ramage is afood security specialist withSave the Children in Medan,Indonesia.

Kendrick Repko is an associateaccount executive with SchwartzCommunications, a public rela-tions firm in Waltham, Mass.,that specializes in technologyand health care.

Nicole Richardson is a programmanager at Global Food &Nutrition Inc. in Washington,D.C. She recently traveled onassignment to Haiti and Zambia.

Shauna Sadowski married LouisBennett, A02, the former Fried-man School webmaster, inspring 2006. Sadowski is a consultant/manager in the Foodand Agriculture Division atBusiness for Social Respon-sibility in San Francisco.

Gabrielle Serra is a child nutri-tion database staff memberwith the Special NutritionProgram Division of the USDA’sFood and Nutrition Service inWashington, D.C.

Jennifer Weston is a clinical dietitian at Tufts–New EnglandMedical Center.

Charlotte Block is working atMercy Corps, helping to designits World Hunger EducationCenter in New York.

Jennifer Bourbeau is a dietitianat Community Servings, a non-profit organization that providesfree home-delivered mealsthroughout eastern Massachu-setts to those homebound withHIV/AIDS and other life-threat-ening illnesses.

Melissa Marko defended herthesis on “Vitamin E-inducedEnhancement of T Cell ReceptorProximal Signal TransductionEvents in CD4+ T cells from OldMice” at the HNRCA on July 28.Her advisor was Simin N.

Meydani. She is now a postdocin the HNRCA NutritionalImmunology Laboratory.

Heather Mernitz gave her thesispresentation on “The Chemo-preventive Effects of 9-cisRetinoic Acid and 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 againstNNK-Induced Lung Carcino-genesis in A/J Mice” at theHNRCA on July 17. Xiang-DongWang was her advisor. She isworking as a postdoctoral asso-ciate in the HNRCA Nutrition andCancer Biology Laboratory.

SAVE THE DATEALL-ALUMNI REUNION April 21–23, 2007Join us at this year’s All-Alumni Reunion on April 21–23, 2007.Enjoy re-connecting with friends and mentors, as well as annualevents, including the Gershoff Symposium.

The Alumni Association’s Alumni Awards are presented during reunion. Your nominations are needed! To nominate a worthy graduate or to find out more information about the awardsor reunion, visit the alumni section of http://nutrition.tufts.edu.

travel-learntravel-learn

TRAVEL TO EXTRAORDINARY PLACES WITH EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLETRAVEL TO EXTRAORDINARY PLACES WITH EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE

From Antarctica to Santorini, from China tothe Nile, the Tufts Travel-Learn Program combinesintellectual inquiry with leisure and exploration.

There’s a perfect trip for every taste.Call Usha Sellers, Director,at 800-843-2586 or visitour website for updateddetails and itineraries.

www.tufts.edu/alumni/ed-travel-learn.htmlwww.tufts.edu/alumni/ed-travel-learn.html

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FIRED UP FOR FITNESSThe life of a firefighter is unpre-dictable, to say the least. Oneminute you’re sitting around. Thenext, you’re racing up a flight ofstairs lugging 100 pounds ofequipment. To prepare to go fromthe sedentary to the swift, theSomerville Fire Departmentunderwent a health and wellnessmakeover. For more on the story,turn to page 15. P

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