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Nutrition
:
Polish-born American biochemist Casimir Funk introduced the term
vitamine in 1912. Researchers later identified vitamins needed by
the body to prevent deficiency diseases such as beriberi, rickets,
scurvy, and pellagra. As better nutrition was developed and the
quality of life improved, these diseases almost disappeared from
industrialized countries (see Human Nutrition). But by the end of
the 20th century, other nutritional disorders emerged. Studies conducted
in the United States in the 1990s showed that more than 97 million
Americans were overweight and risked health problems, such as heart
disease and diabetes mellitus, commonly associated with obesity.
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