Widdowson, Elsie (1906–2000)

views updated

Widdowson, Elsie (1906–2000)

English nutritionist. Name variations: Elsie May Widdowson. Born Oct 21, 1906, in Dulwich, London, England; died June 14, 2000; sister of Eva Crane (b. 1911, apiculturalist); studied at Imperial College, London, and at King's College of Household and Social Science (1933–34).

Pioneer in scientific food analysis, nutrition and diet, worked closely throughout career with Robert A. McCance; during WWII, with her nation under wartime rationing, worked out that cabbage, bread and potatoes contained all the nutrients needed for a healthy survival; also advised on what food could be tolerated by victims of the war as they were nursed back to health; with McCance, wrote The Composition of Foods (1940), known as the dietitian's bible, which was regularly updated. Made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1979).