Abstract Nutrition appeared somewhat late on the scene in the I.B.P. projects in the U.K., but eventually it occupied an integral part of many of the H.A. (human adaptability) investigations. The nutritional data obtained in the studies of isolated and nearisolated communities in Tristan da Cunha and in New Guinea provided information of wide nutritional significance. There were also detailed and extensive studies in Israel which, similarly to those in New Guinea, attempted to relate nutritional factors to environment, working conditions, and physical fitness. Some extraordinarily low energy intakes found in Ethiopians have induced much speculation on the extent to which man can adequately adapt to restricted food supplies. Interesting nutritional observations, of general importance, have also arisen from results obtained on such disparate groups as Glasgow adolescents, Tanzanian and Sudanese students, children in Malawi and vegans in the U.K