Skip to main content

Healthy Diets, Healthy People

Main Content
HealthyDietsHealthyPeople
Spinach salad with raspberries and blueberries (ARS photo)

It's a fact of life; we all need to eat. Most people understand that good nutrition is important for our health. The good news is one of ARS's important research programs is in the area of human nutrition. 

Human nutrition research as we know it has its origins in the work of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Wilbur Olin Atwater (1844-1907). Dr. Atwater developed a system of assigning a calorie value to each gram of protein, fat, and carbohydrate found in foods. These calorie values were known as the “Atwater Factors” and pioneered the Nutrition Facts label that can be found on food containers today.

Fast forward over 100 years, and ARS is conducting ground-breaking research at human nutrition centers in Maryland, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Texas, Arkansas, and California. Through its research, ARS gives Americans the tools and knowledge to make science-backed nutrition decisions, paving the way for Americans to lead healthier lives while reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Health conscious and health curious consumers can access a website known as FoodData Central, which enables users to see the nutrient breakdown of thousands of food products, from brand name apple sauce to fresh zucchini. 

ARS's research supports human health at all stages of life by better understanding relationships between nutrient intake, specific foods, eating patterns, exercise, disease prevention, and how nutrition promotes health. Some highlights of this important research include: 

  • Research at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC) in Beltsville, MD (the oldest and most comprehensive of the USDA human nutrition research centers) spans the nutrition and health continuum. In 2019, USDA released a new nutrient data system known as FoodData Central that contains five distinct types of food and nutrient composition data and is a resource for researchers, nutrition professionals, health care providers, and consumers. More recently, scientists at BHNRC led two highly controlled dietary intervention studies to determine if high-oleic soybean oil improves cardiovascular risk factors such as the levels of cholesterol and lipoproteins compared to a palm oil blend and that replacing some of the protein traditionally found in a Mediterranean diet with lean beef actually minimizes some factors of heart disease. 

  • Researchers at the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, ND, study the roles of foods and physical activity on human health, obesity prevention, and the maintenance of healthy body weight. A recent study here demonstrated that eating the recommended daily amount of vegetables can improve mental health, while another study demonstrated that eating an adequate amount of protein at each meal can reduce the odds of experiencing functional disability by up to 60% in older adults.  

  • The Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, CA, which has a metabolic kitchen that is among the best in the world, supports controlled human feeding studies in nutritional status assessment, body composition analysis, and food intake behavior. In one study, researchers found that diverse, high fiber diets are associated with lower antimicrobial resistance in the gut bacteria of healthy adults.  Scientists have also shown that breast feeding increases the presence of a gut bacteria that may improve vaccine response in infants.  

  • Researchers at the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Research Center in Little Rock, AR, was established through an ARS cooperative agreement with Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and the University of Arkansas Medical School. The Center conducts comprehensive clinical studies, including following longitudinal cohorts from gestation to adolescence, to investigate the root causes of complex childhood chronic diseases to prevent their development and enhance health. Results have shown that maternal physical activity during pregnancy is associated with newborn’s brain development, maternal obesity is associated with infants’ microbiome during the first year of life, and clear understanding of differences in the growth and development of children fed human milk compared to children fed infant formula.  

  • Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, TX, established through an ARS cooperative agreement with Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, work to determine the dietary needs that will assure health in pregnant and lactating women and in children through adolescence. Scientists demonstrated that skin carotenoids are a reliable biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake in infants and children, and that dietary fiber reduces belly pain in school-age boys but not girls.  

  • Scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston, MA, established through an ARS cooperative agreement with Tufts University, conduct research to promote healthy and active aging. Recent research found that consuming a diet that balances the intake of carbohydrates with fat regulates a gene in the body that can reduce the risk of obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. Scientists also explored the role of the gut microbiome on muscle strength in older adults, and a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicate that diets high in flavonoids are associated with lower risks of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias in U.S. adults. 

Want more information on ARS's role in human nutrition research? Visit Keeping America Healthy: ARS's Human Nutrition Research.