| Discipline | Nutrition anddietetics[2] |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Edited by | Christopher P Duggan[3] |
| Publication details | |
Former name | Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| History | 1952–present[4] |
| Publisher | American Society for Nutrition[4] (United States) |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| 7.045 (2021) | |
| Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt  ) | |
| ISO 4 | Am. J. Clin. Nutr. |
| Indexing CODEN (alt · alt2) · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus · W&L | |
| CODEN | AJCNAC |
| ISSN | 0002-9165 (print) 1938-3207 (web) |
| LCCN | 56032466 |
| OCLC no. | 01480127 |
| Links | |
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) is a monthlypeer-reviewedbiomedical journal in the fields ofdietetics andclinical nutrition.[5]
The journal was established in 1952 as theJournal of Clinical Nutrition, edited by S.O. Waife and published by the Nutrition Press.[6] It was continued in series under the present title from 1954 and was published by theAmerican Society for Clinical Nutrition (ASCN).[7] It is now published by theAmerican Society for Nutrition.[8]The journal's editor-in-chief isChristopher P Duggan[9] ofHarvard Medical School.[9]
A poll conducted in 2009 by the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division of theSpecial Libraries Association identified the journal as among the "100 most influential journals ... over the last 100 years" in the fields ofbiology and medicine.[8] According to theJournal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2021impact factor of 7.045.[10]
Marion Nestle voiced concerns in November 2013 aboutconflict of interest by theAJCN board. Nestle stated that of the twelve-member editorial board "the majority — 7 of the 12 — listmajor corporate affiliations. The list of food companies for which they consult or advise ... includesCoca-Cola,PepsiCo, TheSugar Association, TheNational Restaurant Association,ConAgra,McDonald's,Kellogg,Mars, and many others."[11][12]
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 forThe American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Editors," published by their affiliate,Oxford University Press.[13][14]
In a 2015 report,Michele Simon also voiced concerns regarding corporate involvement with the American Society for Nutrition's journals.[15]
The journal publicly lists the conflicts of interest of its editorial board on its website.[16] In 2007, they published an article outlining their conflict of interest policy.[17]
Nestle subsequently found widespread examples of apparent conflicts of interest resulting in apparently distorted studies published in various major journals of nutrition, including in theAJCN.[18]
In a February 2022 letter published inAJCN, seven co-authors of theEndocrine Society's 2017 scientific statement on the causes ofobesity[19] criticized[20] a December 2021AJCN article[21] 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."[20]
The letter's authors pointed to theAJCN's article as triggering false reporting in the media that "Overeating is not... the primary cause of obesity."[20] TheAJCN article was so quoted in media in the scientific[22][23] and medical communities,[24][25][26] business media,[27] and popular media, in the United States[28][29] and abroad.[30][25][31]