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Review of diet management program
Letters expressing responsible reaction to or criticism of reviews printed in the Journal will be published as space permits and at the discretion of the Reviews Editor. Correspondents should refer to the guidelines in the "JNE Information for Contributors" published in the first issue of each volume ofthe Journal.
Popular Press Articles As a member of the Society for Nutrition Education since 1974, I have been watching the changes in the JNE format. It occurred to me that the section "The Popular Press" (JNE 16:152-53, 1984) would be more useful if the original article were published followed by the review. I am Director of the Human Nutrition Center of the American Soybean Association office based in Mexico City, Mexico. Finding the original journals or asking for reprints is a long, frustrating, and time-consuming process in Mexico, as it must be in other countries. Having the article printed in JNE would be far more useful than reading only the reviews. Ruth S. Orellana, R.D., Director, Human Nutrition Center, Rio Sena 26 06500 Mexico, D.F.
Reviews Editor Replies "The Popular Press" reviews section was added to JNE for two reasons: first, to inform our readers about the kinds of nutrition information and misinformation that are reaching the public; and second, to encourage popular press editors to be more discriminating about the information they print. The section provides an important service: it reports evaluations, by nutrition professionals, of the nutrition information that is being published in the popular press. In many instances, readers may wish to refer to the original article. Unfortunately, space is at a premium in the Journal, so we cannot publish the original articles. However, in order to assist those, like Dr. Orellana, who wish to secure reprints of the reviewed articles, beginning with the June issue we will include complete mailing addresses for all magazines mentioned. SarahA. Berkowitz
Review of CNA In response to the review of Comprehensive Nutritional Assessment-version 1 (JNE 16:80-81) I would like to provide the following addition to your readers. VOLUME
17
NUMBER
1
1985
CNA.1 provides much more than a prognostic nutritional index. It also includes somatic and visceral protein indices, calculates BEE (Harris-Benedict), estimates nitrogen balance, specifies whether serum albumin and transferrin levels are below normal, and if anthropometrics, lymphocytes, and skin tests are in the normal range. The program considers nonprotein calories in relation to literature recommendations as to what these should be. A two-page printout is provided. The first page is designed to "echo" the input as a check system for support team personnel and/or physicians - especially useful when nonclinical personnel are inputting the information. The second page provides a detailed summary derived from the documented calculation pathways. This hardcopy can be placed in the patient's chart. An active support team might well prefer to have a clinical picture generated via this program rather than laboriously performing calculations with a hand-held calculator. The author recognizes that institutions vary in setting cut-off standards for abnormal laboratory values and will customize the program if norms are provided. Addendum: The current version, CNA.3, has several changes, including: 1) allows user input of calorie/nitrogen ratio (default being 150:1); 2) displays error message when there is insufficient data to project prognostic nutritional index. Alan Frashier, D.P.H., 1632 Rachel's Retreat Circle, Hermitage, TN 37076.
Review of Diet Management Program We are writing in regard to the review of our program, Individualized Diet Management (JNE 16:87-88), as we feel that the review of our software left the reader with an inaccurate impression. As the reviewer acknowledged in her first paragraph, our program was written for use only by practicing health professionals who counsel diabetics and overweight individuals. It is a tool that allows very fast computation of one particular set of information (the total number of food exchanges for one day to meet a given kilocaloric level and accommodate client food preferences) and provides a printed copy of the results. It was not intended to be a tutorial or a teaching program for clients nor was it to be used by
patients or the general public. A thorough knowledge of the Exchange System for Meal Planning and the accompanying calculations are the stated prerequisites for use of the program. Before we released the software, it was tested by practicing clinical dietitians and other health professionals, and modifications were made in the program based on the tests. The dietitians felt the program filled a need and performed as stated. Further, they approved of the "crude estimates" of frame size and activity level as an acceptable method for determining kilocalorie requirements. In any case, regardless ofthe method chosen, the program will perform the computations quickly and accurately. We are gratified that the reviewer found the program "reasonably easy to use" and, by implication, the documentation adequate and the computations accurate. Our program allows rapid paging from one screen to another and also permits flexible methods for making corrections. Furthermore, special attention was given to the documentation to make sure that it was accurate and complete. It was designed to provide step-by-step assistance in operating the program. Our major concern with the review was that it obscured the program's stated purpose and usefulness as a tool for the health professional by making our program seem like a mediocre educational program for clients. Evelyn Settle Farrior, Ph.D., R.D., A.B. Buchanan, AB Software, Inc., Box3737, Greenville, NC 27836.
Review of Your Nutrition I would like to make the following comments regarding the review of Your Nutrition, a new junior high text published by South-Western Publishing Company (JNE 16:29). The comments made by the reviewers seem to charge us with publication of inaccurate nutrition information. The statement is made that "the first two chapters contain some misleading information" without telling the reader what is misleading. Although we disagree with many of the reviewers' comments, there is room for only two points to be stressed here. First, we disagree with the reviewers about the amount of scientific detail needed in a junior high textbook. A careful study of the learning characteristics of junior high students prompted us to strive for learning at their JOURNAL OF NUTRITION EDUCATION
23
Popular Press Articles As a member of the Society for Nutrition Education since 1974, I have been watching the changes in the JNE format. It occurred to me that the section "The Popular Press" (JNE 16:152-53, 1984) would be more useful if the original article were published followed by the review. I am Director of the Human Nutrition Center of the American Soybean Association office based in Mexico City, Mexico. Finding the original journals or asking for reprints is a long, frustrating, and time-consuming process in Mexico, as it must be in other countries. Having the article printed in JNE would be far more useful than reading only the reviews. Ruth S. Orellana, R.D., Director, Human Nutrition Center, Rio Sena 26 06500 Mexico, D.F.
Reviews Editor Replies "The Popular Press" reviews section was added to JNE for two reasons: first, to inform our readers about the kinds of nutrition information and misinformation that are reaching the public; and second, to encourage popular press editors to be more discriminating about the information they print. The section provides an important service: it reports evaluations, by nutrition professionals, of the nutrition information that is being published in the popular press. In many instances, readers may wish to refer to the original article. Unfortunately, space is at a premium in the Journal, so we cannot publish the original articles. However, in order to assist those, like Dr. Orellana, who wish to secure reprints of the reviewed articles, beginning with the June issue we will include complete mailing addresses for all magazines mentioned. SarahA. Berkowitz
Review of CNA In response to the review of Comprehensive Nutritional Assessment-version 1 (JNE 16:80-81) I would like to provide the following addition to your readers. VOLUME
17
NUMBER
1
1985
CNA.1 provides much more than a prognostic nutritional index. It also includes somatic and visceral protein indices, calculates BEE (Harris-Benedict), estimates nitrogen balance, specifies whether serum albumin and transferrin levels are below normal, and if anthropometrics, lymphocytes, and skin tests are in the normal range. The program considers nonprotein calories in relation to literature recommendations as to what these should be. A two-page printout is provided. The first page is designed to "echo" the input as a check system for support team personnel and/or physicians - especially useful when nonclinical personnel are inputting the information. The second page provides a detailed summary derived from the documented calculation pathways. This hardcopy can be placed in the patient's chart. An active support team might well prefer to have a clinical picture generated via this program rather than laboriously performing calculations with a hand-held calculator. The author recognizes that institutions vary in setting cut-off standards for abnormal laboratory values and will customize the program if norms are provided. Addendum: The current version, CNA.3, has several changes, including: 1) allows user input of calorie/nitrogen ratio (default being 150:1); 2) displays error message when there is insufficient data to project prognostic nutritional index. Alan Frashier, D.P.H., 1632 Rachel's Retreat Circle, Hermitage, TN 37076.
Review of Diet Management Program We are writing in regard to the review of our program, Individualized Diet Management (JNE 16:87-88), as we feel that the review of our software left the reader with an inaccurate impression. As the reviewer acknowledged in her first paragraph, our program was written for use only by practicing health professionals who counsel diabetics and overweight individuals. It is a tool that allows very fast computation of one particular set of information (the total number of food exchanges for one day to meet a given kilocaloric level and accommodate client food preferences) and provides a printed copy of the results. It was not intended to be a tutorial or a teaching program for clients nor was it to be used by
patients or the general public. A thorough knowledge of the Exchange System for Meal Planning and the accompanying calculations are the stated prerequisites for use of the program. Before we released the software, it was tested by practicing clinical dietitians and other health professionals, and modifications were made in the program based on the tests. The dietitians felt the program filled a need and performed as stated. Further, they approved of the "crude estimates" of frame size and activity level as an acceptable method for determining kilocalorie requirements. In any case, regardless ofthe method chosen, the program will perform the computations quickly and accurately. We are gratified that the reviewer found the program "reasonably easy to use" and, by implication, the documentation adequate and the computations accurate. Our program allows rapid paging from one screen to another and also permits flexible methods for making corrections. Furthermore, special attention was given to the documentation to make sure that it was accurate and complete. It was designed to provide step-by-step assistance in operating the program. Our major concern with the review was that it obscured the program's stated purpose and usefulness as a tool for the health professional by making our program seem like a mediocre educational program for clients. Evelyn Settle Farrior, Ph.D., R.D., A.B. Buchanan, AB Software, Inc., Box3737, Greenville, NC 27836.
Review of Your Nutrition I would like to make the following comments regarding the review of Your Nutrition, a new junior high text published by South-Western Publishing Company (JNE 16:29). The comments made by the reviewers seem to charge us with publication of inaccurate nutrition information. The statement is made that "the first two chapters contain some misleading information" without telling the reader what is misleading. Although we disagree with many of the reviewers' comments, there is room for only two points to be stressed here. First, we disagree with the reviewers about the amount of scientific detail needed in a junior high textbook. A careful study of the learning characteristics of junior high students prompted us to strive for learning at their JOURNAL OF NUTRITION EDUCATION
23