From the editor.

Welcome to the first issue of Nutrition & Dietetics for 2003. I think that this issue demonstrates what dietitians can achieve when they extend themselves beyond the boundaries. Sarah Leighton went to work for an organisation called Rocky Bay in a specialisation with which few dietitians have experience. She has carefully researched her area of work in nutritional issues for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and shares it with us in a review. The Insight article by Suzie Ferrie is another good example of endeavour in dietetics. Her challenging experience was with an adult who had intractable seizures. Her case report follows the course of treatment with a ketogenic diet.

The grapefruit has always been somewhat overlooked for its cousin the orange when it comes to our favourite source of vitamin C. However, the editorial by Truswell alerts us to a vast array of properties of grapefruit of which dietitians should be aware, in particular the drug interactions.

Several articles in this issue deal with the nutrition of children from preschool age to adolescence. As Allen speculates in her leading article, why is it when food is so plentiful and the prevalence of obesity is rising, that the consumption of a number of key micronutrients is below recommended levels? The article continues elaborating on the limitations of RDIs and food intake data.

Magarey and Bannerman as well as Wang and colleagues have contributed articles that are based on secondary analyses of the National Nutrition Survey 1995. Margarey has evaluated the micronutrient intakes of children and adolescents and then compares the findings with those in 1985. The micronutrients of concern and the age and sex groups with intakes less than recommended are similar to the findings in 1985. Calcium intakes for children in all age groups and iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin A intakes in 12 to 18-year-old girls are of concern.

Wang and co-authors have examined the association between overweight and obesity and the intake of fat and energy in adolescents. The intake of energy and fat and percentage of energy from fat was lower in obese boys. No significant differences were found for girls. A missing clue is the absence of data on physical activity.

Studying younger children, Daniels and colleagues have investigated the potential of family day care centres as venues for health promotion in nutrition. It appears that many providers of care are participating in a range of nutrition promotion activities. Policies and guidelines as well as training and resource materials would further facilitate this role.

The paper by Hughes is also in the area of health promotion. He presents findings from a study into the experiences of dietitians working on interventions in the takeaway food sector. The competencies required are identified and the deficits in knowledge and skills of the dietitians are reported.

Mann and colleagues describe the development of a database of fatty acids in Australian foods. This paper provides important background information for those dietitians who will be using the results in a computer analysis program.

The letters to the Editor involve correspondence about an article published last year titled Dietary intakes of older Victorians. The discussion about the use of RDIs to assess intakes of a population makes important reading.

Tapsell has provided a report on the recent international conference on dietary assessment methodology. The CPD quiz by Lyons-Wall and Samman presents a most thorough review of vitamins B6, B12 and folate. Two comprehensive nutrition texts edited by leading Australian nutritionists are reviewed.

The most observant of you will detect a change in style to the presentation of the abstracts in this issue. We hope this assists the readership and stand by for further developments.

Margaret Allman-Farinelli

Editor