The focus of the last issue of 2018 is food and nutrition education techniques and narrative reviews. The reviews offer readers an opportunity to consider the pertinent research studies for patients with complex clinical conditions and to weigh the interventions needed in their own practices.
Prescott and her colleagues examined selected parameters of fourth-grade teachers adopting the Food for Fuel curriculum. Using a cross-sectional design, they compared teachers who like to cook and those who prefer not to cook and found higher ratings of student engagement with learning and more healthful behaviors for teachers who liked to cook. The authors recommended targeted nutrition education to enhance healthful eating attitudes and behaviors of school children.
Bansah et al also pursued the topic of attitudinal changes concerning online content of nutrition messages that students received in the college classroom. The descriptive project evaluated participant perceptions using 2 research instruments via digital technology. They found that the best model for learning through messaging encompassed emotion, logic, and message credibility.
As part of a diabetes prevention strategy, AlFaris and colleagues devised a food exchange list for 25 traditional foods consumed by adults in Saudi Arabia. They analyzed the nutrient content for the most common foods, 15 homemade and 10 prepared outside the home. The food exchange list was developed to assist dietitians and nutritionists in Saudi Arabia with raising awareness of healthy food choices and to help reduce the rise of adult-onset diabetes.
Fast-food consumption is a worldwide concern for dietitians and health practitioners. By exploring the fast-food habits of 900 students in Jordanian universities, Amr et al found an increased prevalence of fast foods in their dietary regimens and encouraged a national awareness campaign about the health risks of overconsumption of fast foods.
Another project by Bellini et al focused on the input of 6 registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) experts to establish face and content validity of nutrition education materials used in a clinical setting. The RDN evaluators showed an 80% consensus for 18 of 25 criteria in evaluating the handouts and applying a revised version of the tool, Developing and Assessing Nutrition Education Handouts.
Another evidence review by Fisher et al examined the complex condition of gastroparesis and found a preponderance of subjective reports of symptom relief by patients that indicated success with treatment. However, they concluded that there are 2 priorities: a need for more intervention trials and a continued need to improve patient compliance with medical nutrition therapy.
Sain and her colleagues tackled another problem to examine closely-protein calorie malnutrition in individuals with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. They found the literature replete with the complexities of treatment and a need to pay close, early attention to nutritional status and to the effectiveness of interventions. They presented a case study of severe malnutrition in a hospitalized patient with advanced liver cirrhosis and compared it to the recommendations in the literature.
Next year, 2019, will begin a new era for Topics in Clinical Nutrition. After close to 35 years of publication, the format of the journal is changing to an online platform due to increased digital usage and expanding its future potential. Our readership has increased globally, particularly through OVID. We also would like to expand our editorial board and national and international reviewers. Please contact us if you are interested and provide a biography or resume: mailto:[email protected].
-Judith A. Gilbride, PhD, RDN, FAND
Editor
-Elizabeth Young, MA
Managing Editor