Issue 21:4 of Topics in Clinical Nutrition represents an array of articles related to clinical dietetic practice and chronic disease, with a smattering of nutrition education, counseling, and case examples. Many of the authors address trends and clinical considerations and provide additional resources and references. In addition, strategies for solving obesity problems in this country continue to be a focus for research on diet.
Rushing and colleagues compare the outcomes of individuals who consumed either a low carbohydrate diet of less than 20 g or a portion-controlled diet of 1100 calories. Retention rate in this study was poor, particularly between weeks 5 and 7, but weight loss occurred on both diets. Suggestions are made for further study by the investigators.
Rasmussen et al use a survey instrument on 2 professional listservs to determine perceptions of education and training for diagnosing failure to thrive in infants and children. The participants had varying levels of satisfaction with their training in medical school. Experience was found to be the major factor in diagnosing failure to thrive.
A counseling program to improve disease prevention behaviors through lifestyle-oriented nutrition was designed by Horacek and her colleagues at Syracuse University. An 8-week treatment-control intervention was done with 235 individuals; 51% completed the 6-month follow-up. Four patterns for intervention were distinguished: fruit intake, vegetable intake, low fat eating, and exercise. Clients collaborated with their counselors on a wide range of individualized goals through lifestyle-oriented nutrition counseling by dietetic students and interns.
Ghaddar and her colleagues conduct a cross-sectional project to determine whether a correlation exist between calcium intake and body composition. An intake of 1200 mg or more of calcium per day was associated with a decrease in the percentage of body fat of participants.
The Hispanic population has been growing tremendously and several surveys have been conducted to determine health beliefs, folklore, and use of herbal remedies with subsets of Hispanics living in the United States. A project was undertaken to identify the types of herbal supplements used in the Spanish community of Southeast Idaho. Dundas and Dolsen review 4 of 18 common herbs in-depth and compare the research literature to Spanish consumer books available at point-of-purchase.
Mendes and her colleagues examine the use of glycemic index/load as a counseling tool for overweight children. They found that professionals were more likely to employ the concepts in their counseling in outpatient settings than in inpatient settings. They recommend that new tools be developed and tested with children for teaching about glycemic index/load.
Shorter explore a relatively new condition, interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, and the potential impact of diet. She note problems with diagnosis and share information from the Interstitial Cystitis Association on a basic diet plan. A series of questions to be added to a medical history are suggested to help identify this condition.
The article by Eiden on permissive underfeeding in obese hospitalized patients provides a solid review of studies over the past 2 decades. It seems that hypocaloric, high feedings are well-tolerated for 5 to 7 days and warrant additional studies. Dietitians should design these studies or work with interdisciplinary research groups to expand this area of research.
Horan et al examine the literature regarding medical nutrition therapy and diabetes self-management education in relation to clinical outcomes and prevention of diabetic complications. From their review, they recommend that data collection include from levels, diabetic medications, weights, body mass indexes, and evaluation of behavior change in addition to demographics, presence or absence of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and duration in the diabetes self-management education program. A particular void noted in the literature was the lack of evaluation of various meal plans and the impact of the clinical outcomes of diabetes management.
looseness-1Malkin-Washeim address the growing interest in celiac disease and type 1 diabetes. Both are autoimmune diseases associated with the same genetic haplotypes. She compares worldwide prevalence and provides 2 days of sample menus plus an extensive resource list for parents and clinicians.
Cohen examines the research surrounding zinc, zinc lozenges, and zinc nasal sprays and the common cold and its implications for practitioners. Her review concludes with several observations about the limitations of the current data and suggests avoidance of zinc products for children and adolescents, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems, especially those with HIV/AIDS and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Thank you for your feedback and manuscript submissions to Topics in Clinical Nutrition. Please let me know if you want to be an author or reviewer for future issues. Special appreciation is extended to our 2006 reviewers who are listed at the back of this issue.
Judith A. Gilbride, PhD, RD, FADA
Editor