International Women’s Day: Three British Women Who Shaped Nutrition Science

Dr Elsie Widdowson (1906–2000) 

Elsie Widdowson grew up in South London during the First World War. She studied chemistry, completed a PhD on the carbohydrate content of fruit, and went on to become one of Britain’s most influential nutrition scientists. 

In 1933, she began working with Dr Robert McCance. Together they published The Chemical Composition of Foods in 1940 – a record of the nutritional content of thousands of British foods for the first time. These food composition tables became the foundation of modern nutritional thinking in the UK. 

During the Second World War, Widdowson and McCance used their research to help shape policies around food rationing. They followed a strictly rationed diet they’d designed for three months to show it could preserve health and energy levels, ending their experiment with a 10-day hiking trip in the lake district. Their work helped reassure the government that a carefully planned rationing system could protect public health. 

In 1941, thanks to their campaigning, flour was fortified with calcium to help protect bone health when dairy intake was limited. After the war, Widdowson went on to study infant nutrition, and her work led to improved standards for infant formula.  

Her work shaped both wartime survival and long-term nutrition policy in Britain. 

Dr Lucy Wills (1888–1964) 

Born in Birmingham, Lucy Wills trained as a doctor before travelling to India in 1928 to study high rates of anaemia in pregnant women. The condition (which leads to a lack of healthy red blood cells) often resulted in birth defects and maternal death. 

By studying the diets of affected women, she became convinced that the cause was nutritional. Through a series of experiments, she discovered that marmite (yeast extract) could treat the anaemia. The protective factor in marmite later became known as folate, or vitamin B9. 

We now know folate plays a critical role in preventing neural tube defects such as spina bifida. More than a century later, her discovery led to the UK approving the fortification of flour with folic acid which is expected to reduce neural tube defects by 20%.  

Lucy Wills’ work changed maternal health worldwide. 

Dame Harriette Chick (1875–1977)

Dame Harriette Chick grew up in Victorian England and went on to study science at University College London. In 1905 she became the first woman to study at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine. After the outbreak of the First World War, her research turned to treatments for troops affected by scurvy.

In the early 20th century, rickets - a disease that causes bones to become soft and weak in growing children - was common in the UK. Chick’s research helped show that it could be treated with sunshine (vitamin D) and cod liver oil.

By helping establish the link between vitamin deficiency and disease, she contributed to a major shift in public health thinking, from treating illness to preventing it.