Topics in Clinical Nutrition has benefited from the assistance of two guest editors, Polly A. Fitz, MA, RD, CDN, and Valerie B. Duffy, PhD, RD. As faculty colleagues at the University of Connecticut, they have tapped into their Connecticut connections to bring readers stimulating practice and research articles. Their network includes former students and dietitians in affiliated health care institutions, community agencies, and businesses. Their contacts have grown beyond Connecticut and flourished because of joint interests in advancing practice and research and an abiding commitment to improving the profession. According to Fitz,
it is important to foster these networks because they have the strength and talent and mutual interests that produce excellent outcomes-a winning combination for advancing science and therefore, the whole professional community.
We begin with an article by Professor Duffy who reports a study of response to bitterness and predictors of dietary behavior. Two taste markers were used to predict sweetness in solution and foods and then used to predict sweet intake. Measures of taste showed a significant association with sweet sensation, preference, and intake and suggest genetic and environmental variation in taste. Future research in this area is important to dietitians who counsel patients because taste and oral sensations are important in determining what people like and choose to eat.
White and her colleagues present a case for professional partnerships to enhance dietetic practice. They examine the literature and make suggestions to reinforce collaborations and increase effective communication. They emphasize that the ability of dietetics professionals to create and sustain partnerships is essential to the appropriate provision of medical nutrition therapy.
Practitioners need validated instruments to measure behavioral change in dietary interventions. Margaret Gaughan validated an instrument for use with her patients, the Heart Healthy Eating Self-Efficacy Scale, and applied it with 2 groups, one in a worksite health promotion program and another in an outpatient clinic for "at risk" patients with hyperlipidemia. Her experience has implications for nutrition counselors and educators.
Cobb and Solera address the strategy of the 5-a-Day program for increasing fruits and vegetables in the daily diet. They discuss the challenges for encouraging Americans to consume 5 to 9 fruits and vegetables each day and recommend greater attention to environmental strategies and policy research interventions.
Food insecurity is an important issue that concerns dietetic practitioners, particularly for those working with older adults. Fey-Yensan and her coauthors report on 229 low-income seniors living in Connecticut. Two hundred of those identified were eligible for the federal Food Stamp Program (FSP) but some chose not to participate. Interestingly, in this study the FSP participants indicated higher food insecurity, lower incomes, and a greater need for food stamps than did nonparticipants. They concluded that nutrition educators should help low-income seniors improve their access to food programs and services and lessen their food anxiety.
The conference on the past, present, and future trends of nutrition, first reported on in issue 18:3, is followed up by an article by Dr David August, Chief of Surgical Oncology at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and past president of American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. He reviews the current state of the art and calls for more research in informatics, genomics, nutriceuticals, cancer chemoprevention, and behavioral studies for advances to be made.
Nutrition assessment and management of elderly dialysis patients by Burrowes focuses on practitioners who work with elderly patients and the appropriate measures to use in monitoring nutritional status. Elderly patients often require more intensive nutritional counseling and monitoring than do younger patients especially when a more liberalized diet is prescribed. Prompt recognition of poor nutritional status and early intervention are most important, including both nutritional and dialytic approaches that help patients maintain independent lives.
The level of acculturation and dietary patterns of Asian Americans have been of interest to nutrition educators since the mid seventies. This study of acculturation by Lv and Cason targets a population in Pennsylvania and incorporates a new measure, congenial American friends. According to the authors, the concept where immigrants tend to prefer friends with their own ethnicity can be contrasted with the number of host country friends has been associated with acculturation in 3 recent studies.
Again, a very special thanks to Professor Valerie Duffy and Editorial Board Member Polly Fitz for sharing the work of their colleagues with us and enriching the dietetics literature. Please e-mail me with any comments at [email protected].