This issue of Topics in Clinical Nutrition focuses on learning broadly for students and patients in some of the articles. Dalton, in her commentary, "The Confluence of Research and Practice: A Reward of Educating Dietitians," highlights 4 presentations by practicing dietitians that illustrated the scope of applied nutrition research and the diverse practice of dietetics.

Horacek et al describe the successes, barriers, and effectiveness of an interprofessional learning community with integrated service learning experiences in "Interprofessional Learning Community: Educating Dietetic and Other Health Profession Students Through an Interdisciplinary, Service-Learning Experience." They report how dietetic students must develop a competence for building professional partnerships while mastering the core knowledge and skill competencies in addition to the need for an interdisciplinary educational approach to facilitate teamwork across the healthcare professions.

Gilboy reports overall success with an interdisciplinary nonresidential service learning community for upper-class students in "Incorporating Service Learning in Community Nutrition" among students along with favorable outcomes from service learning relationships with community agencies. Students reported barriers such as lack of time and transportation. More formal evaluations are recommended to ensure that the agency needs are being met. Gilboy also includes in the article recommendations for educators interested in adding service learning to didactic program in dietetics courses.

In "Nutrition-Based Standardized Patient Sessions Increased Counseling Awareness and Confidence Among Dietetic Interns," Henry et al show that dietetic interns increased their self-confidence with counseling methods through 2 nutrition-based standardized patient sessions. They enhanced counseling development and emphasized the patient's perspective on counseling for behavioral changes. They recommended further development of standardized patient nutrition counseling activities and improved nutrition counseling skills with an understanding of client perspectives.

In "Comparison of 2 Cooking Education Strategies for Adults: The Recipe and Pantry Methods," Reinhardt Howarth et al. examine the effectiveness of the traditional recipe versus a pantry method. Pre- and postsurveys and postintervention focus groups were conducted. The majority of participants preferred the pantry method. Reasons included learning from peers, a more realistic scenario, a greater number of foods to experience and taste, and an appreciation for the cooking talents of other participants.

Two reviews have been done by Johnson et al and Truesdell, involving nutrients and specific conditions, metabolic syndrome, and depression, respectively. Both articles conclude a need for additional research, especially randomized control trials, to provide more definitive data.

In "Obesity Bias Among Dietitians by Using the Fat People-Thin People Implicit Association Test," Edelstein et al show that registered dietitians (RDs) tended to be less tolerant of obesity than those from the general population. Education for RDs on improving tolerance with individuals who are obese is recommended, especially for RDs who counsel overweight patients. More targeted research should be conducted with a larger population as well as with a more diverse group of respondents. Overall, however, fat bias is a concern within the healthcare community, and steps need to be taken to reduce such biases to better serve patients and clients.

The descriptive cross-sectional survey of Khan et al is detailed in "Health Implications Associated With Food Intake Patterns of Belizeans." They show that rice and beans were the most popular foods and the tortilla was the most commonly consumed breakfast grain item, although a national diet has not been clearly defined. Men and women had inadequate intakes of vitamin A, calcium, and potassium. Iron and folate intake were also found to be low in women, and sodium intake was high in the male population. Further studies on the regional and dietary variation of the different groups are needed along with continued research efforts and monitoring of the long-term health outcomes of Belizeans.

O'Donnell and Edelstein show how dietitians reported patient difficulty eating a gluten-free diet (GFD) owing to a lack of knowledge of the appropriate foods to eat in "Dietitians' Perceptions of Adherence to a Gluten-Free Diet Among Low-Income Individuals With Celiac Disease." Almost half of the participants reported that patients do not follow a strict GFD owing to a lack of access to gluten-free foods, supporting the hypothesis that low-income individuals with celiac disease have difficulty adhering to a GFD owing to insufficient resources.

Thank you for your contribution to the Topics in Clinical Nutrition.

-Judith A. Gilbride, PhD, RD, FADA

Editor