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HN Department Overview

What does nutrition have to do with the prevention and treatment of diseases?

Figure 2. Influence of Diet on
Leading Causes of Death in the
United States, 2002

1. Heart Disease+
2. Cancer+
3. Stroke+
4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases
5. Accidents
6. Diabetes+
7. Influenza and Pneumonia*
8. Alzheimer’s Disease
9. Kidney Disease+
10. Septicemia*
11. Suicide
12. Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis+
13. Hypertension+
14. Homicide
15. Pneumonitis

Source: CDC, Deaths: Final Data for 2002.
National Vital Statistics Reports 2004: 53(5).
+ Incidence and severity affected by diet
* Nutritional status can influence morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases

There is an established link between diet and four of the leading causes of mortality in the United States: heart disease, some cancers, stroke, and diabetes. Diet can also affect the competence of a person’s immune system and, therefore, the risk of infectious diseases (Figure 2). Nutrition science is the study of the role of diet in modulating the balance between health and disease. Nutrition scientists focus on this relationship at the cellular, organ, and the whole body level of individuals, within the community, and for entire populations.

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