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From the Editor
With publication of
the index, the December issue provides an opportunity to examine the past
year in review. The index highlights the relevance of the Journal to contemporary
issues in nutrition and dietetics, and the means by which research in
the discipline addresses these issues. It is fitting also that the articles
in this issue relate to research that informs practice, in this case targeting
communities in Victoria and the Northern Territory, the Illawarra region
of NSW, and New Zealand.
Healthy food
availability
Judy
Seale’s introduction to her leading article (on monitoring price
and availability of healthy food) provides a comprehensive view of food
security in Australia, a key public health nutrition issue. She argues
for a national
approach to ensure this benefit is extended to all. More specifically,
Williams and colleagues address the question of the affordability of healthy
foods for the Illawarra community in two articles. Their first paper,
outlining the development of the model food basket, displays the
importance of using a transparent methodology in making qualified comment
on an issue such as food affordability. Decisions were based on available
reference data, with the assumption that these data reflect best practice
in nutrition guideline development. The second article then applies
the model basket framework to develop a trend analysis of cost in a three
year period. Information from systematic analyses such as these is useful
in testing assumptions regarding potential public health nutrition problems
in an area, in this case as they relate to environmental
conditions.
Community-based
research and practice
In the next article, the information relates to the community itself.
Obesity is a major public health problem in the community, and success
in maintenance of weight loss is rare. Timperio and Crawford report on
public perceptions of success in weight control in a community sample
in
Victoria and find discordance between public health defined goals and
privately held views. An understanding of this discordance is informative
for practice.
Compared to overweight
individuals, athletes in the community may be perceived as healthy, but
the study by Finn and Wood from Darwin found health risk of a different
kind. Their study of 93 male athletes in the Arafura Games uncovered the
presence of dehydration in athletes
competing in volleyball, touch football and basketball, suggesting the
need for monitoring and education programs.
We then look to New Zealand where Young and colleagues report on a program
dealing with another community group that would benefit from nutrition
programs, especially as their food is provided. They examine
the effects of a healthy catering program on the provision of healthy
menu items, by measuring perceptions of caterers and dietitians. These
stakeholders found the program to be successful in making changes and
identified areas for further improvement in food services, completing
the
cycle of program planning, implementation and evaluation.
These studies of community-based research are good reflections of the
nature and scope of nutrition and dietetics research. They are accompanied
by the continuing education quiz that addresses nutrition and the elderly,
and a conference report on the pre Athens Olympics
meeting on Nutrition and Fitness. A fitting way to end the year.
From a management perspective, I must add heartfelt thanks to the highly
professional team that has helped to produce the Journal in 2004. In particular
I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the managing editor, Margaret
Ruhfus and her colleagues at the DAA office. This
has been a busy year, with thanks extended to the full Editorial Board
and the Journal and Scientific Publications Advisory Committee listed
on the first page. To those Associate Editors completing their terms:
Heather Greenfield, Peter Howe, Samir Samman and Jane Scott, go special
thanks and best wishes. We look forward to exciting developments with
the Journal next year, and in particular establishing links with international
colleagues and promoting our conference outcomes. Before the next
issue though, and on behalf of the Journal team, I wish a safe and restful
season to all our readers.
Professor
Linda Tapsell APD
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