Newswise — This summer, leading experts on health and human evolution will convene at the University of Arkansas for a symposium on the human diet. Presenters will discuss how diet developed as the human lineage evolved, what can be known about proper human nutrition, and how the foods we eat today impact our health and bodies. A newly-launched informational Web site now offers a sneak peek at the proceedings.
Health professionals, reporters and members of the general public interested in attending the symposium or learning more about it are encouraged to visit www.sloandietworkshop.org. The site features biographies of the presenters, abstracts of their presentations, a conference schedule and additional information.
Sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the symposium is titled "The Evolution of Human Diet: the Known, the Unknown and the Unknowable." It takes place August 14-15 on the University of Arkansas campus. All members of the media and public are invited to attend free of charge, and no registration is required.
"This is an important topic right now. You have diet books topping the best sellers lists, conjecturing about what we're 'designed' to eat. You have consumers suing fast food chains for jeopardizing their health. You have millions of Americans suffering from obesity-related health problems and many more trying to lose weight. The public needs information about what we can know about human diet and what we may never know," said Peter Ungar, UA professor of anthropology and a presenter at the symposium.
More than a dozen experts on human evolution, nutrition, behavioral ecology, anthropology and medicine will deliver presentations over the two-day event. Presenters range from academic researchers to popular authors.
For example, Richard Wrangham, professor of anthropology at Harvard, will discuss primary and supplementary food choices of human ancestors as evidenced by dental physiology and digestive anatomy. His presentation also will examine of the role of cooked foods in the development of our species. In addition, Barry Sears, author of the best-selling diet book "The Zone," will address the health consequences of adopting a "Neo-Paleolithic" diet of low-fat protein, fruits and vegetables. Particularly, Sears will address the hormonal effects and anti-inflammatory benefits of such a low-carbohydrate diet.
The symposium showcases a wide range of topics and approaches to its subject because an understanding of human diet requires multiple perspectives. Medical, evolutionary and social factors all feed into our choices and needs when it comes to what we eat, Ungar said. This broad overview may make the symposium useful to a variety of audiences " from health professionals and academic researchers to the general public. In addition, the organizers hope it will create an opportunity for experts in disparate fields to share their findings and embark on inter-disciplinary collaborations.
Over the course of the two days, each participant will deliver a 50-minute presentation, followed by ten minutes for questions from the audience. A summary of the proceedings and an edited volume are expected to be published soon after the symposium.
The Sloan Foundation provided $40,000 to fund the symposium under its program, "The Known, Unknown and Unknowable." According to the foundation's Web site " http://www.sloan.org " this program seeks "to add to the viewpoint of producers of knowledge the viewpoint of consumers" and "to explore the limits to knowledge in fields with obvious practical implications, such as health or finance, where it is important for knowledge consumers"¦to know what you can or cannot know."
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