Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya

Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya (Food and Nutrition) is an Arabic university textbook on nutritional science, community health, and dietetics, coordinated and scientifically edited by Abd al-Rahman Musayqir with contributions from a panel of Arab scholars and specialists Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1.

Background and Purpose

The book was published under the auspices of the World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean as the second installment in its series of Arabic university medical textbooks, following al-Tibb al-Shar'i wa al-Sumumiyyat (Forensic Medicine and Toxicology) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya. Its publication responded to specific recommendations issued by the Union of Arab Physicians and the deans of Arab medical colleges seeking to provide comprehensive Arabic-language academic resources and facilitate the instruction of medical and health sciences in Arabic Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1.

Authorship and Editorial Team

While Abd al-Rahman Musayqir served as the general coordinator and scientific editor, individual chapters were authored and co-authored by various academic specialists across the Arab world Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya. The contributing authors include:

• Hamid Takruri and Salma Tuqan (University of Jordan) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Rufayda Husayn Khashuqji (King Abdulaziz University) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Wafa Antonios Musa (Nutrition Institute, Cairo) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Muhammad Hasib Hafiz Rajab, Izzat Khamis Amin, Ulfat Abd al-Hamid Darwish, and Nawal Abd al-Rahim al-Sayyid (Alexandria University) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Khalid Ali al-Madani (Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Abd al-Rahman Ubayd Musayqir (United Arab Emirates University) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Samir Salim Miladi (FAO Regional Office, Cairo) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Fayza Yusuf al-Zamrawi (University of Khartoum) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya
• Abd al-Mun'im Sadiq Hassan (Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar) Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya

Scientific, linguistic, and typographic editing, as well as the organization of chapters and tables, was conducted by Muhammad al-Dibs, while Muhammad Haytham al-Khayyat carried out a comprehensive scientific and linguistic review of the work Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.

Structure and Contents

The textbook opens with a general introduction outlining the definition of nutritional science, its historical development, its relationship to other disciplines, its role in health and development, and general nutritional requirements Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya. The main text is organized into fifteen thematic chapters followed by supplementary appendices Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1:

1. Nutrients and Energy: Human body composition, tissues, the digestive system, and primary macronutrients and micronutrients Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
2. Balanced Nutrition and Meal Planning: Daily meals, dietary guidelines for chronic disease prevention, food group systems, and the food pyramid Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
3. Traditional Foods in the Arab World: Grains, legumes, dairy, meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, beverages, and traditional sweets Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1.
4. Food Production and Consumption in the Arab World: Agricultural systems, food security, socioeconomic levels, and regional nutritional targets Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
5. Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Food Consumption: Income, pricing, subsidies, cultural habits, media, and demographic shifts Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1.
6. Food Safety and Quality: Food control standards, bacterial and fungal contamination, environmental contaminants, and food additives Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
7. Nutritional Deficiency Disorders: Pathophysiology of malnutrition, protein–energy malnutrition, and nutritional anemias Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
8. Nutrition of Pregnant and Lactating Women: Physiological demands, nutritional requirements, and lactation management Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
9. Nutrition of Infants and Young Children: Growth milestones, breastfeeding, feeding difficulties, and preschool nutrition Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1.
10. Nutrition of School-Aged Children and Adolescents: Dietary requirements, fast food impacts, and adolescent health issues Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
11. Geriatric Nutrition: Aging theories, physiological alterations, nutritional assessment, and counseling for the elderly Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
12. Nutrition for Special Groups and Athletes: Physical fitness, energy systems, pre- and post-exercise meals, and nutrition for individuals with disabilities Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1.
13. Diet-Related Chronic Diseases: Cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer, obesity, gout, and osteoporosis Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.
14. Community Nutritional Assessment: Nutritional surveys, surveillance systems, anthropometry, clinical assessments, and laboratory evaluations Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya+1.
15. Therapeutic Nutrition: Clinical feeding methods, dietetics, and dietary management of gastrointestinal, hepatic, renal, and metabolic disorders Al-Ghidha wa al-Taghdhiya.