Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation From Biology to Policy

This book addresses the causes and effects of nutrient deficiencies along the cell-to-communities continuum. The book is primarily concerned with a lack or deficiency of one or more micro- or macronutrients in connection with malnutrition, under nutrition, and starvation. Embedded within the deficiency states is acute restriction whereby food is withdrawn completely for short periods, as when individuals are adhering to religious requirements or undergoing surgical procedures. Further downstream is the consumption of a fraction of the normal diet, as when individuals are dieting or when there is restriction in the amount or variety of food available. The causes of such reductions in dietary intake are varied and also include the social context of poverty, financial limitations, and famine. Refugees and displaced persons may also be vulnerable to under nutrition or total starvation. Diseases may also impact on the total food consumed, such as when there are physical impediments (intestinal obstruction or dysphagia) or anorexia (induced by organic disease or as a disease process per se, ie, anorexia nervosa). This book, organized as approximately 125 chapters in 17 major sections, covers the variable manifestations of dietary restrictions on cells, whole organs, the individual, and societies. 

General aspects of famine.- Effects of famine.- Food security, low income and poverty.- Effects of food security and poverty.- Refugees and displaced persons.- Medical causes of dietary restrictions and malnutrition.- Anorexia.- Anorexia Nervosa.- Classifications of starvation and malnutrition.- Kwashiorkor and marasmus.- Starvation and the individual.- Fasting and the individual.- Deficiencies of micro and macro nutrients.- Effects on organ systems.- Molecular Effects.- Modelling systems in vertebrates and lower organisms.- Policy and strategy.

Victor R. Preedy (B.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc. FRSB, FRSPH, FRCPath, FRSC), is a staff member of the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine at King’s College London. He is also a member of the Division of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences (research) and the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (teaching). Professor Preedy is also Director of the Genomics Centre of King’s College London. Professor Preedy graduated in 1974 with an honors degree in biology and physiology with pharmacology. He gained his University of London Ph.D. in 1981. In 1992, he received his membership of the Royal College of Pathologists, and in 1993, he gained his second doctorate (D.Sc.) for his outstanding contribution to protein metabolism in health and disease. Professor Preedy was elected as Fellow to the Institute of Biology in 1995 and to the Royal College of Pathologists in 2000. In 2004, he was elected as Fellow to the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health and to the Royal Institute of Public Health. In 2009, he became Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health and, in 2012, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Professor Preedy has carried out research at the National Heart Hospital (part of Imperial College London), the School of Pharmacy (now part of University College London), and the MRC Centre at Northwick Park Hospital. He has collaborated with research groups in Finland, Japan, Australia, the USA, and Germany. He is a leading expert in the science of health and has a long-standing interest in nutrition and disease. He has lectured nationally and internationally. To his credit, Professor Preedy has published over 600 articles, which include peer-reviewed manuscripts based on original research, abstracts and symposium presentations, reviews, and numerous books and volumes.

Dr. Vinood B. Patel (B.Sc., Ph.D., FRSC) is a Reader in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Westminster and Honorary Fellow at King’s College London. Dr. Patel graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a degree in pharmacology and completed his Ph.D. in protein metabolism from King’s College London in 1997. His postdoctoral work was carried out at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical School studying structural-functional alterations to mitochondrial ribosomes, where he developed novel techniques to characterize their biophysical properties. Dr. Patel is a nationally and internationally recognized scientist, and in 2014 he was elected as Fellow to the Royal Society of Chemistry. He presently directs studies on metabolic pathways involved in diabetes and liver disease, particularly related to mitochondrial energy regulation and cell death. He is currently conducting research to study the role of nutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals, iron, alcohol, and fatty acids. His other areas of interest include identifying new biomarkers that can be used for the diagnosis and prognosis of liver disease and understanding mitochondrial oxidative stress in Alzheimer’s disease and gastrointestinal dysfunction in autism. Dr. Patel has edited biomedical books in the areas of health preventive nutrition and biomarkers and has published over 150 articles.