BJN to publish more issues and more papers in 2009

Workers in the Nutrition Society offices in London have recently uncovered an announcement from 1946 highlighting the launch of the British Journal of Nutrition. It is a simple document stating ‘The Nutrition Society has decided to publish a new quarterly journal, to be called the “British Journal of Nutrition”. This journal will be devoted to the publication of reports of original work in every branch of nutrition. It is hoped that the first number will appear some time during the first half of 1947’. As I highlighted in my Editorial marking the 60th birthday of the BJN ⁽¹⁾, the first issue of the journal appeared with the cover date September 1947. Three issues of the BJN were published in 1947, and four issues in each of the years 1948–70. During that period the issues published within a year formed one volume. However, from 1971 to 1993 six issues were published each year and these formed two volumes. Since 1994 twelve issues have been published each year and these comprise two volumes. This represents an enormous increase in the number of articles published in the BJN each year. For example, in 1950, the BJN published twenty-nine research articles; in 2007 the number was over 300! In response to the greatly increased supply of manuscripts to the BJN over the last 5 years, there is now a need to further increase the number of articles that the journal publishes. Thus, with the support of the Nutrition Society's Publications Committee, I have taken the decision to double the number of issues of the BJN to be published each year. Hence, starting with this issue, the BJN will be published every 2 weeks. The twenty-four issues published each year will comprise two volumes. The increased number of issues will represent a significant increase in the number of papers published annually in the BJN, thus providing additional value to both subscribers and authors. Although the original aim of the BJN (‘the publication of reports of original work in every branch of nutrition’) remains unchanged, it is important that the prestige and attractiveness of the BJN are maintained. As I have indicated recently⁽²⁾, this will require more stringent criteria for acceptance of papers, in order that the place of the BJN amongst the top journals in the field can be assured.