From the Editor Volume 58, Number 2, June 2001

In the June issue of the Journal we include papers on clinical nutrition, public health nutrition, nutritional science and community nutrition. The leading article by Maree Ferguson traces the rise in nutrition screening programs in Australian hospitals and leads us to the next steps we can take with regard to intervention and measurement of outcomes. The issue contains two papers in this area. Michelle Miller and colleagues have audited the current practice in nutritional screening, intervention and treatment of osteoporosis for patients admitted to hospital with a femoral neck fracture. It appears that the proportion of referrals to dietitians is low (26%) considering that 38% of patients had a low serum albumin concentration and 72% had a lowered total lymphocyte count. Very few patients were discharged on calcium treatment or medications for osteoporosis. Eleanor Beck and colleagues present their experiences with the implementation of a malnutrition screening program with dietitians performing the procedure. They report on the prevalence of malnutrition in hospital patients in different wards, with different diagnoses and in acute care versus rehabilitation care. The results should help the managers of nutrition and dietetic services to allocate dietetic resources to areas with the most need. Mark Lawrence and his co-authors report on the prevalence of usage of nutrient supplements by Australian adults. The information was obtained in two population survey monitor surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1995 and 1996. One-quarter of males and more than one-third of females had taken supplements in the two weeks before the survey. The necessity of ongoing monitoring of the amount of nutrients contributed from supplements was apparent. Sotirios Mangas and Samir Samman bring us up-to-date with boron including dietary sources and current consumption, the metabolism of boron, its potential biochemical and physiological roles and its toxicity. Amanda Patterson and colleagues have studied another metal, iron. They determined the intakes of dietary iron in a group of females, applying three algorithms that address the bio-availabilty of iron. They also examined the relationships of bio-available dietary intake of iron, contraceptive pill use, menstruation, alcohol intake, smoking, and other lifestyle factors with serum ferritin. Only oral contraceptive pill usage, alcohol and phytate intake were associated with serum ferritin. The prevalence of low dietary intakes of bio-available iron indicated that further work is required. Rosyln Soanes and her research associates studied nutrient intakes of children aged two and three years. Children attending long day care centres and those not in day care were compared. All children consumed less than 50% of the recommended dietary intake for energy and the other nutrients studied during the time span of day care, whether they attended day care or not. However, they all consumed more than 70% of the recommended intakes during the 24-hour period. It does not appear feasible to recommend that day care centres aim to provide any more than 50% of the recommended dietary intakes of nutrients with their menus. Also studying children are Angela Vivanti and Jeanie Sheffield. They have collected data on reported and measured heights and weights, body image and demography from Queensland school students aged from ten to 18 years old. Compared with the weight percentiles developed by the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, more 14-year-old boys and 12-year-old girls are above the 95th percentile for weight. The editorial by Linda Tapsell comments on the need to convert the theory of nutrition into practical dietetics and the interdependence between the two. Dorothy Francis is our guest author of the retrospective article this issue. I hope you find it as informative and entertaining as I did. The Food Allergy and Intolerance special interest group publishes the final in a series of four quizzes. This time it is on food and asthma. You will remember that in the March issue we published two very different viewpoints on the need for a dietary guideline concerning sugar consumption. A flood of letters was anticipated but only one is published this issue. Perhaps more will follow. I have just returned from the 20th National Dietitians Association of Australia Conference. The necessity of research by dietitians was emphasised and the number of abstracts submitted was most commendable. Do not forget the sentiment that research becomes most useful when it is published and I trust that a submission to the Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics is a priority. Congratulations to the winners of the 2001 Insight Award. This year the award was shared between two papers: a case study based on the Tasmanian Breastfeeding Support Coalition, by Roger Hughes and Julie Williams; and a report of a GP nutrition education project, by Debbie Richards and Geoff Mitchell. The guidelines for Insight papers and criteria for the award are included on page 140 of this issue. Margaret Allman-Farinelli Editor