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Objective To estimate 24‐hour sodium and potassium excretion in an urban Australian population. Design and setting Cross‐sectional survey of an urban population in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1995. Participants Systematic sample (87 men, 107 women) from the Commonwealth Electoral Roll of people aged 18‐70 years on 30 June 1995 whose residential address was within 10 km of the Hobart General Post Office. Main outcome measure Conformity with the national target for sodium intake for the year 2000 of ≤ 100 mmol/day. Results The target was met by 6% of men and 36% of women. This difference between the sexes was significant (P<0.001), while differences between age groups and socioeconomic levels were not significant. Conclusion Our findings confirm the low level of conformity with the national sodium target reported by the handful of Australian studies over the past decade. Given the major community costs associated with hypertension, our results highlight the need for effective and properly monitored action to reduce sodium intakes.

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Objective: To ascertain (1) whether the taste characteristics of a conventionally-salted (150 mM NaCl) soup can be reproduced in soups of substantially lower NaCl level with the help of added glutamate, and (2) whether calcium diglutamate (CDG) is equivalent to monosodium glutamate (MSG) in its effect on the taste of soup. Design: Cross-sectional, with multiple measurements on each subject. Setting: Healthy university students. Subjects: A total of 107 volunteers, recruited by on-campus advertising. Methods: Subjects tasted 32 soups, with all possible combinations of four NaCl concentrations (0 -150 mM), four glutamate levels (0 -43 mM), and two glutamate types (MSG, CDG). Main outcome measures: Ratings of each soup on six scales (liking, flavour-intensity, familiarity, naturalness of taste, richness of taste, saltiness). Results: A 50 or 85 mM NaCl soup with added CDG or MSG is rated as high as, or higher than, a 150 mM NaCl soup free of added glutamate on five of the six scales (the exception being saltiness). CDG and MSG have equivalent effects. Conclusions: Addition of glutamate allows substantial reductions in Na content of soup, without significant deterioration of taste. CDG and MSG have equivalent effects, but use of CDG permits a greater reduction in Na intake. Sponsorship: We acknowledge the financial support of the International Glutamate Technical Committee (IGTC).

Milk samples from captive potoroos were analysed for composition during weeks 3-25 of the lactation period. During pouch residence, up to week 16, carbohydrate levels were high, ranging from 9 g 100 ml

Objective: To explore whether food choices are linked to the extent of television watching among teenagers.Design: A representative state‐wide sample of 2082 junior high school students (aged 12–15 years) was surveyed cross‐sectionally in Tasmania, Australia. Respondents completed a printed questionnaire, which asked inter alia how much time subjects spent watching television, how frequently they consumed each of 22 foods, their socio‐demographic characteristics and their local dietary milieu (i.e. the frequency of usage of each food by parents and friends).Results: Respondents watched television for an average of 3.3 h per day (s.d. 1.9 h). For 18 of the 22 foods, there was a significant (P<0.01) linear relation between hours of television watched per day and frequency of consumption of the food. For 10 of the 22 foods, it remained significant even after the addition of several predictor variables reflecting socio‐demographic characteristics and the frequency of consumption of the food by parents and friends. Students who watched television more extensively tended to eat ‘healthy’ foods less often and ‘unhealthy’ foods more often.Conclusion: The results suggest possible dietary explanations for previous reports linking television watching to obesity and hypercholesterolaemia. In addition, they suggest that a high level of television watching might be a useful screening indicator of an unhealthy diet.

High friction surfacing (HFS) is a specialist type of road coating with very high skid resistance. It is used in the UK at locations where there is significant risk of serious or fatal accidents. This paper considers the aggregate used in HFS. Calcined bauxite is the only aggregate that provides the highest levels of skid resistance over the longest period. No naturally occurring aggregate has been found to give a comparable level of in-service performance. This paper reviews the historical development of HFS in the UK relating to aggregate. In-service performance is predicted in the laboratory using the Wear test which subjects test specimens to an estimated 5-8 years simulated trafficking. Examples are given of Wear test data. They illustrate why calcined bauxite performs better than natural aggregate. They show how the amount of calcined bauxite can be reduced by blending with high skid resistant natural aggregates. Data from the Wear test can be related to every HFS laboratory experiment and road trial carried out in the UK for over the last 50 years. Anyone considering the prediction of HFS performance needs to carefully consider the data given in this paper with any other test method currently being considered or used to investigate HFS.

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