The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) is a monthly peer-reviewed biomedical journal in the fields of dietetics and clinical nutrition.
The journal was established in 1952 as the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, edited by S.O. Waife and published by the Nutrition Press.Issue 1, front matter It was continued in series under the present title from 1954 and was published by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition (ASCN).Catalog entry at the National Library of Medicine. It is now published by the American Society for Nutrition. The journal's editor-in-chief is Christopher P Duggan of Harvard Medical School.
A poll conducted in 2009 by the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division of the Special Libraries Association identified the journal as among the "100 most influential journals ... over the last 100 years" in the fields of biology and medicine. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2021 impact factor of 7.045.
Criticism and controversy Conflicts of interest Marion Nestle voiced concerns in November 2013 about conflict of interest by the AJCN board. Nestle stated that of the twelve-member editorial board "the majority — 7 of the 12 — list major corporate affiliations. The list of food companies for which they consult or advise ... includes Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, The Sugar Association, The National Restaurant Association, ConAgra, McDonald's, Kellogg, Mars, and many others."
Most of these, and various other major companies and corporations in the food industry, or their surrogates, are among those listed in the "Conflict of Interest Statements for The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Editors," published by their affiliate, Oxford University Press."Conflict of Interest Statements for The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Editors," retrieved September 18, 2024"Conflict of Interest Statements for The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Editors," retrieved September 18, 2024
In a 2015 report, Michele Simon also voiced concerns regarding corporate involvement with the American Society for Nutrition's journals.
The journal publicly lists the conflicts of interest of its editorial board on its website. In 2007, they published an article outlining their conflict of interest policy."Conflict of interest policy for Editors of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," July 2007, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(1):3-4. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/86.1.3., also at: , retrieved September 18, 2024
Nestle subsequently found widespread examples of apparent conflicts of interest resulting in apparently distorted studies published in various major journals of nutrition, including in the AJCN.Belluz, Julia: "Food companies distort nutrition science. Here's how to stop them," April 21, 2016, Vox, retrieved September 18, 2024
Criticism of content In a February 2022 letter published in AJCN, seven co-authors of the Endocrine Society's 2017 scientific statement on the causes of obesity"Obesity Pathogenesis: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement," August 2017, Endocrine Reviews, Volume 38, Issue 4, Pages 267–296, https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2017-00111, retrieved September 17, 2024 criticizedDrewnowski, Adam, et al.: letter: "Misleading or factually incorrect statements in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Perspectives article by Ludwig et al," February 2022, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 115(2): 591–592. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab384, retrieved September 17, 2024; also at NCBI at , and at Science Direct at: a December 2021 AJCN articleLudwig, David S., et al.: "The carbohydrate-insulin model: a physiological perspective on the obesity pandemic," December 2021, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Volume 114, Issue 6, pp.1873-1885, retrieved September 17, 2024; also at PubMed at: that they said had "several... statements" that were "misleading and factually incorrect," "mischaracterizing... the main thrust" of the Society's position that "views obesity as a complex disorder" -- instead falsely characterizing the Society's statement as simply asserting that obesity only depends upon "more calories [being] consumed than expended."
The letter's authors pointed to the AJCN's article as triggering false reporting in the media that "Overeating is not... the primary cause of obesity." The AJCN article was so quoted in media in the scientific"Scientists claim that overeating is not the primary cause of obesity," September 13, 2021, Science News, retrieved September 17, 2024"Scientists Claim Overeating Is Not the Primary Cause of Obesity – Point to More Effective Weight Loss Strategies," September 13, 2021, SciTechDaily, retrieved September 17, 2024 and medical communities,"Overeating may not be the primary cause of obesity," December 3, 2021, Medical News Bulletin, retrieved September 17, 2024"Obesity Not Linked to Overeating," September 13 2021, Medindia, retrieved September 17, 2024"Overeating is not the primary cause of obesity," updated September 17, 2021, Bariatric News, retrieved September 17, 2024 business media,"Overeating may not be the main cause of your obesity. Here's why," October 6, 2021, The Economic Times, retrieved September 17, 2024 and popular media, in the United States"The calories in, calories out concept is 'tragically flawed,' new research suggests," September 20, 2021, Today, NBC-TV, retrieved September 17, 2024"Scientists Say Weight Gain is Caused by What You Eat, Not How Much," September 20, 2021, Men's Health, retrieved September 17, 2024 and abroad."Overeating 'not the primary cause of obesity', claim scientists," September 13, 2021, Sky News (U.K.), retrieved September 17, 2024"Overeating isn’t primary cause of obesity," September 29, 2021, The Independent of Uganda, retrieved September 17, 2024
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