Oh Canada

At the time of writing this editorial (1 July), Canadians worldwide are celebrating Canada Day over beer and barbeques. It is timely therefore that a number of papers in this issue are from Canadian researchers addressing diverse public health nutrition issues. Hennessy-Priest et al.⁽¹⁾ report on a cross-sectional study of folate intake among pre-school children that considers the exposure of young children to dietary folate in a fortified food environment. Seliske et al.⁽²⁾ examine the impact of the food supply environment and obesity by analysing the relationship between the proximity and density of food retailers and schools. Their finding that exposure to food retailers in school neighbourhoods was not associated with increased likelihood of overweight in school-aged youth challenges the simplistic assumption that availability and accessibility to retail food outlets results in obesinogenic dietary exposures. At the other end of the dietary intake spectrum, Tarasuk et al.⁽³⁾ present a study among homeless youths to assess nutrition vulnerability and describe their food acquisition practices. Their results highlight a high degree of need with respect to food security and a range of survival behaviours that demonstrate resiliency and related risk-taking behaviours.

Oh Mother

Maternal nutrition is a key theme in this issue with studies addressing this population group across a number of continents. Rao et al.⁽⁴⁾ report on modifications to a 24 h recall method of dietary assessment to objectively measure maternal dietary intake in the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study. Buss et al.⁽⁵⁾ report on their study assessing dietary fibre intake among pregnant women in Brazil, with results highlighting inadequate fibre intake relative to recommendations in this population group. Maternal nutrition is a priority in our discipline not only because of the impact it has on maternal health, but also because of the formative effects it has on fetal development. Bonham et al.⁽⁶⁾ report on an observational prospective study of the dietary intakes of pregnant women in the Republic of Seychelles, with a particular focus on nutrients important for optimal fetal development. They confirm the important role of fish as a source of these nutrients and predict micronutrient deficiency risks associated with the dietary transition in this population.

Politics or poison?

Politics appears to be a consistent feature of the human condition. Thuraisingam et al.⁽⁷⁾ report on an analysis of the views reflected in lobbying around the development of reference standards for nutrient intakes in Australia. They highlight concerns with the political process and question the role of political interference from certain stakeholder groups in the development of good public policy.