Book Reviews
             Nutrition in Sport, vol VII of The Encyclopaedia of Sports Med-         superb volume that provides a comprehensive source of current
             icine, edited by Ronald J Maughan, 2000, 680 pages, hardcover,          information on the science and application of nutrition in sport.
             $125.00. Blackwell Science Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom.
               This is an excellent addition to the volumes that constitute                                                           C Alan Titchenal
             Blackwell Science’s Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine. This vol-
             ume can also stand alone as an important reference book for those       Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences                                       Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/73/1/135/4729813 by guest on 06 January 2023
             seriously involved in the research, teaching, or application of         University of Hawaii at Manoa
             nutrition in exercise and sport. The overall purpose of the book is     1955 East-West Road
             to fuse the science of sports nutrition with its practical application  Honolulu, HI 96822
             in sports dietetics. This is admirably accomplished in 51 chapters      E-mail: titch@hawaii.edu
             written by 65 international contributors. These authors include
             both scientists and practitioners who are widely recognized
             experts in various aspects of nutrition, physiology, and sport.
               The book is divided into 4 sections. The first part, comprising
             30 chapters, explores the science that forms the foundation for
             the practice of sports nutrition. The topics range from those that
             are basic and central to sports nutrition to those with a more spe-     Obesity and Poverty:A New Public Health Challenge, edited by
             cific focus. For example, in addition to a chapter on dietary car-      Manuel Peña and Jorge Bacallao, 2000, 124 pages, softcover,
             bohydrates and one on carbohydrate metabolism in exercise, a            $22.00. Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC.
             separate chapter focuses specifically on the optimization of               This book emphasizes public health aspects of the nutri-
             glycogen stores and another covers carbohydrate replacement             tional and epidemiologic transitions occurring in Latin Amer-
             during exercise. Also, there are chapters on topics of broad con-       ica and the Caribbean, particularly among the poor in these
             cern such as exercise-induced oxidative stress, nutritional             countries. The volume includes 12 brief chapters by authors
             ergogenic aids, creatine, caffeine, bicarbonate and citrate as          from Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America, grouped
             buffering agents, and alcohol.                                          into 4 sections. A Spanish-language version is also available
               The second section of this volume addresses special considera-        from the publisher.
             tions specific to 4 groups of athletes: females, youths, vegetarians,       A strength of the book is that many of the chapters focus on
             and diabetic persons. Each of these 4 chapters discusses nutri-         demographic and social aspects of health, development, and obe-
             tional ramifications along with strategies to meet special needs.        sity in Latin America and the Caribbean. The changes in health
               Six chapters, composing the third part of the book, cover             and disease that take place during a time of economic and social
             practical issues related to overweight, overtraining, or eating dis-    transition are complex and multifactorial. In developing coun-
             orders as well as the nutritional challenges imposed by travel,         tries, higher body weights tend to be associated with wealth and
             climatic extremes, and the use of sports nutrition products.            high social standing; in developed countries, higher body
             Those working directly with athletes will find these chapters           weights tend to be associated with poverty and low social stand-
             especially informative and practical.                                   ing. In transition from one pattern to the other, the poor may suf-
               The fourth part of the book includes 11 chapters addressing           fer disproportionately from malnutrition and noncommunicable
             sport-specific nutrition concerns. These chapters help to under-        chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, associated
             score the diversity of nutritional demands unique to different          with overnutrition. Social inequities contribute to and exacerbate
             types of physical activity and dispel the one-size-fits-all             these inequalities in health.
             approach to sports nutrition. In addition to chapters on specific          In the first section—Obesity and its Economic, Sociocultural
             sports such as cycling, gymnastics, swimming, racquet sports,           and Environmental Determinants—the editors Peña and
             skating, and cross-country skiing, individual chapters address          Bacallao provide an overview of the developing situation in
             sprint and distance running, team sports, power sports such as          Latin America and the Caribbean, where malnutrition and over-
             weightlifting, and weight category sports.                              nutrition may coexist even within the same family. The editors
               The authors bring the reader up to date with the current state        suggest that there are different types of obesity. Two particularly
             of the science and provide an excellent perspective on the con-         interesting contributions are the chapter by Aguirre on the
             sensus and uncertainty inherent in various aspects of sports nutri-     socioanthropologic aspects of obesity in poverty in Argentina
             tion. All chapters are well referenced with citations that provide      and the chapter by Torun on physical activity patterns in Central
             the reader a portal to the most important literature. In summary,       America, which contrasts the lives of rural peasants with those
             the editor, Ronald J Maughan, has orchestrated the assembly of a        of poor urban dwellers.
             Am J Clin Nutr 2001;73:135–6. Printed in USA. © 2001 American Society for Clinical Nutrition                                           135