From the Editor Volume 59, Number 4, December 2002

From the Editor Well we have come around to the December issue again— is it me or do the years seem to go more quickly now? This issue opens with an editorial by our President, Peter Williams, and another by one of our regional members of the Editorial Board, Dr Mabel Deurenberg-Yap. Williams urges dietitians to address the issue of poor nutritional intakes and malnutrition in hospital patients. Included as part of the strategy must be our involvement in the food service area. This is perhaps a ‘wake-up’ call to dietitians, as while nutritional screening and assessment is fashionable and seen as important by dietitians, it is the Editor’s impression that involvement with food service is less so. Deurenberg-Yap’s contribution concerns the classification of overweight by body mass index in Asian populations and the need for different definitions. With the changing ethnic mix in Australia as well, especially in cities like Sydney, and the growing level of obesity, we need to be more aware of definitions for people from Asian backgrounds. Dr Ian Cameron provides a leading article raising further questions about rates of under- and over-nutrition among elderly people who fall. This introduces us to the first paper by Stolz and colleagues. They report on the first study of nutritional health and management of patients presenting to a falls clinic. The cost of falls to the health budget is set to increase as the population ages. Although the study revealed a lower prevalence of malnutrition than may have been anticipated, it highlights the importance of developing screening protocols and referral of patients to dietitians as appropriate. Dane-Stewart and colleagues have studied the effects of chronic ingestion of black tea on chylomicrons and blood lipids. While previous studies have found no effects of tea on plasma lipids, the novel factor in this study was to examine chylomicrons and their remnants and measure lathosterol, the cholesterol precursor. Compared with hot water they could find no effect of drinking five cups of tea daily. Nowak and Büttner report on a study of 902 adolescents attending private schools in Townsville, Queensland, with respect to food- and nutrition-related beliefs, behaviours and concerns. They report that for many students the usual consumption of foods from the core food groups was below recommendations and knowledge of their food requirements was very poor. Most students reported a positive relationship between negative emotions and food intake. Other strategies to deal with these feelings could be important to avoid weight gain in adulthood. It is suggested that the food industry, media and the health and education sectors should align for maximum beneficial impact of any health promotion concerning nutrition. Hunter and colleagues examined the prevalence and possible dietary causes of constipation in a sample of 79 Victorians aged over 65 years. Approximately one in four persons was constipated at some time in the previous 12 months and one in five used laxatives. The consumption of cereal and vegetable servings was similar to the Australian average but below recommendations. In this issue we have an Insight paper by Stapleton and colleagues reporting on the adherence of patients with cystic fibrosis to doses of pancreatic enzymes based on the amount of fat consumed at the meal time. While the number of meal occasions with under-dosing was too high, patients and their families indicated widespread support of fat-based doses in place of those based on body weight. A letter to the Editor from Christine Stubbs adds further to the editorial by Crawford in the September issue concerning the obesity epidemic. She draws attention to the recent study that estimates Australian adults have increased energy intake by three to five percent that is derived from carbohydrate. It has been a year of mixed fortunes for the world and for the Journal as well. We farewelled the only Managing Editor the Journal has ever had, Kerry Moir; Maree Ferguson completed her term as Associate Editor; Jan Finley retired from DAA and hence our Journal and Scientific Publications Advisory Committee; and we said goodbye to our old name and cover. Of course the ‘toss of the coin’ is that we welcomed new staff, Judy Bauer as an Associate Editor, and a ‘new-look’ Journal. A major development has been the appointment of our regional Editorial Board members, Fatimah Arshad, Mabel Deurenberg-Yap and Warren Lee. We are very pleased with the new look of the Journal and our efforts to further develop the Journal will continue next year. I wish you all the compliments of the holiday season. Margaret Allman-Farinelli Editor