Editorial policy and general information

Nutrition, Obesity & Metabolic Surgery is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes high quality original articles, reviews, short communications and letters to the editor, written in English. This journal welcomes articles covering all aspects of:
- nutrition – basic research, eating habits, the impact on health of micro- and macronutrients, the role of change in eating habits in the prevention and treatment of obesity and its complications,
- obesity – epidemiology, basis research, clinical trials, psychological and socio-economic aspects, obesity complications, treatment including aspects of physical activity and preventive action,
- metabolic surgery – basic research, techniques, clinical studies.

Nutrition, Obesity & Metabolic Surgery aims to provide scientific information to all clinicians and researchers interested in nutrition and all fields of obesity. The journal invites especially young researchers to publish their studies. The journal would like to give them a chance to have a publication following matter-of-fact, professional review by outstanding medical scientists. Thanks to that they will have an opportunity to present their study results and/or receive useful advice about the mistakes they have made so far. We also invite researchers of recognized authority to publish review papers, which will enable young clinicians and researchers to deepen their knowledge in the field of nutrition and obesitology.

Manuscripts must be submitted online:

Online Manuscript Submission


Names, institutions and e-mail addresses of three suggested experts in the appropriate area of research should accompany each manuscript. Suggested referees should not come from the same institution as the author and should have expert knowledge of the subject. Scientists selected by the Editors will be invited to act as referees.

Article Processing Fee

The manuscripts are published in open access form free of charge. If the authors send the Polish version, payable translation may be arranged by the editorial office.


Language

All contributions must be written in English (American or British spelling and grammar). Translation of the Polish version by the editorial office is available for a fee.


Types of Papers and Allotted Number of Words

Please format the manuscript double-spaced with all margins 2.5 cm, characters in Times New Roman, size 12.

Full length (original) articles should not exceed 4000 words, excluding the title page, abstract, references, tables and figures. Each article should contain a 250-word structured abstract: objective, material and methods, results, conclusions, as well as 5-6 key words. The manuscript should be organized under suitable headings: Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgments and References. The reference numbers for this type of manuscript should be limited to 50. The maximum number of tables and figures is 6.

Review articles should not exceed 6000 words, excluding the title page, abstract, references, tables and figures. Each article should contain an unstructured abstract of 200-250 words as well as 5-6 key words. The maximum number of tables and figures is 5.

Short communications should contain no more than 1500 words excluding the title page, structured abstract (150-200 words), references, tables and figures. There should be no more than 15 references, no more than 2 tables and figures, and no more than 6 authors.


Nutrition, Obesity & Metabolic Surgery does not accept Case reports. Case reports might be submitted as Letters to the Editor (LTEs). LTEs could also focus on a specific article that has appeared in recent issue of journal. Letters must be submitted within 4 weeks of the print issue date of the article. Replies will generally be solicited by the Editors. LTEs should not exceed 500 words, should have no more than 5 references, and should not include tables, figures, an abstract or subheadings.

Articles exceeding the recommended lengths and structure will be returned to the authors for improvement. We therefore ask the authors to adhere to the requirements stated above.


Conditions

All articles in this journal are open access and meet the requirements of funding bodies or academic institutions.
The journal applies procedures ensuring the originality of manuscripts in accordance with the criteria of the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) and WAME (World Association of Medical Editors). Therefore it is also necessary to provide information on the scope of input of each author to the publication, among others who is the author of the concept of the study, assumptions, methods, study protocol, as well as on the affiliation of each of the authors. The editorial office observes the highest standards of scientific publication and the cooperation with authors is based on the transparency of information on the actual input of persons/institutions in the development of the publication. All cases of ghostwriting and guest authorship will be liable for customary penalty as an indication of scientific negligence.
All manuscripts should include information about the research funding.
Acceptance of a manuscript is based on evaluation by several reviewers (peer review).
All manuscripts will be subject to a process of anonymous editorial review (the name of authors and their affiliations will be disclosed to the referees only when the review process is complete). In order to achieve this, the first page and the acknowledgements page will be removed from the manuscripts sent to referees. Manuscripts will be sent to 2 independent reviewers, and the information about acceptance should be limited to 6 weeks.
Once the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors grant Termedia Publishing House a license to publish and reproduce the article in either its present form or revised version for any possible use and identify themselves as the original publishers. This right extends also to associated companies. The publishing rights are worldwide rights and are not time-limited. They include the right to publish the text in printed format as well as electronic online and offline media or databases of any kind. Accepted papers, in whole or in part, may not be translated into other languages, or reproduced by any mechanical or electronic means (including photocopying, recording and microcopying), or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the publisher.

Download: Publishing contract (PDF)

The publisher reserves the right to edit the manuscript and decide on the layout.


Conflicts of Interest

Authors of all articles should disclose at the time of submission any financial arrangement they may have with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company making a competing product. Authors are required to disclose any sponsorship or funding arrangements relating to their research, and all authors must disclose any possible conflicts of interest. Disclosure statements will be published at the end of the text of the article.
Because the essence of reviews and editorials is selection and interpretation of the literature, the Journal expects that authors of such articles will not have any financial interest in a company (or its competitor) that makes a product discussed in the article.
Journal policy requires that reviewers, associate editors, editors, and senior editors reveal in a letter to the Editor-in-Chief any relationships that they have that could be construed as causing a conflict of interest with regard to a manuscript under review. The letter should include a statement of any financial relationships with commercial companies involved with a product under study.


Ethical and Legal Prerequisites

Manuscripts involving examinations of human subjects must include a statement that the trial protocol has been approved by a Local Bioethical Committee and thus meets the standards of the Declaration of Helsinki in its revised version of 1975 and its amendments of 1983, 1989, and 1996 [JAMA 1997;277:925-926]. Accordingly, the subject's informed consent has to be mentioned in the manuscript.
Papers describing animal experiments can be accepted for publication only if the experiment conforms to the legal requirements in Poland as well as with the European Communities Council Directive of November 24, 1986 or the National Institute of Health Guide (National Institute of Health Publications No. 80-23, Revised 1978) for the care and use of Laboratory Animals for experimental procedures. Authors must provide a full description of their anesthetics and surgical procedures.
In sending the manuscript the author(s) confirm(s) that (s)he has (they have) not previously submitted it to another journal (except for abstracts of no more than 250 words) or published it elsewhere. The author(s) also agree(s), if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, to automatic and free transfer of copyright to the Publisher allowing for the publication and distribution of the material submitted in all available forms and fields of exploitation. The author(s) accept(s) that the manuscript will not be published elsewhere in any language without the written consent of the copyright holder, i.e. the Publisher.
Any potential conflict of interest will be dealt with by the local court specific to the Publisher. Legal relations between the Publisher and the author(s) are in accordance with Polish law and with international conventions binding on Poland.


Plagiarism Policy

Whether intentional or not, plagiarism is a serious violation. We define plagiarism as a case in which a paper reproduces another work with at least 25% similarity and without citation.
If evidence of plagiarism is found before/after acceptance or after publication of the paper, the author will be offered a chance for rebuttal. If the arguments are not found to be satisfactory, the manuscript will be retracted and the author sanctioned from publishing papers for a period to be determined by the responsible Editor(s).


Preparation of manuscripts

Articles must be written in English, with either British or American spelling used consistently throughout. Authors not entirely familiar with English usage are advised to seek the assistance of an English speaker; correct style is the responsibility of the authors.
Payable translation from the Polish version by the editorial office is possible.

Please format the manuscript double-spaced with all margins 2.5 cm, characters in Times New Roman, size 12. Text should not be justified, but flush left.

The title page of each paper should indicate: title of the paper, each author’s full name, followed by their affiliation (hospital, institute etc. where the work was conducted), complete name and address of the corresponding author with telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address, running head not exceeding 60 characters including spaces, manuscript word count and funding information.

Abstract on the second page of the manuscript excluding LTEs: 250 words for full length (original) articles and for short communications a structured abstract of 150-200 words (objective, material and methods, results, conclusions) or 200-250 word unstructured abstract for review articles. For indexing purposes, a list of 3–5 key words (according to Index Medicus) in English and not included in the title should be typed below the abstract.

Manuscript body: The textual material of the original articles and short communications should be organized in a standard form with separate Introduction, Material and methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion and References. Review articles should be divided into sections and subsections as appropriate without numbering. LTEs do not include subheadings.
- All dimensions and measurements must be specified in the metric or SI system.
- The source of any drug and special reagent should be identified. Indicate doses and use the international names. When registered trade names are used they must be marked with the superscript registration symbol ® or ™. It is the sole responsibility of the author to ensure that this rule is followed properly.
- Particular attention needs to be paid to the selection of appropriate analysis of data and the results of statistical tests should be incorporated in the results section. The Statistics Editor will check the statistical analysis of each submitted manuscript. The Editors reserve the right to check raw data.
- The nomenclature used should conform to the current edition of the Nomina Anatomica, Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria or Nomina Anatomica Avium. Eponyms (e.g., Fallopian tube, Eustachian tube) should not be used.

Footnotes: Footnotes should be used only for tables.

Tables and Illustrations: Tables are part of the text and should be placed at the end of the text file. Illustration data must be stored as separate files. The number of figures and tables should be limited and aim to illustrate the text. Figures are listed in the text as e.g. Fig. 1, tables as e.g. Table 1. Tables and figures require a brief descriptive heading. The major divisions of the table should be indicated by horizontal rules. Explanatory matter should be included in footnotes, indicated in the body of the table in order of their appearance. When possible, group several illustrations on one block for reproduction; figures and photographs should be attached as separate printouts (in the electronic version, as separate files); figures should be saved in one of the following formats: .cdr, .tif, .jpg, .ai, .bmp or .eps. Photographs sent in the electronic form should be of the resolution 300 dpi and in .tif or .jpg format. Do not place figures and photographs in MS Office files. Like all other figures, a block should be prepared within a rectangular frame to fit within a single or double column width of 84 and 174 mm, respectively, and a maximum page height of 226 mm. Only good drawings and original photographs can be accepted; negatives or photocopies cannot be used.
Color illustrations can be included, but the expense must be borne by the authors. The cost of color print for every successive 8 pages is 200 euros (VAT exclusive) irrespective of the number of color pages, i.e., the price remains the same whether there is one or eight pages. The Publisher makes out the bill to the Author.
The Editor reserves the right to make corrections.
Data already mentioned in the text need not be repeated in a table. Accordingly, numbers used in tables need not be repeated in the text. Abbreviations should be explained in full when first used in the text, table or figure. The maximum number of tables and figures for full length (original) articles is 6, for short communications 2, for review articles 5. LTEs cannot contain tables and figures.

References
The list of references (written on a separate sheet) should include only the publications cited in the text.
References must be numbered sequentially in the order cited in the text. In the text identify references by Arabic numerals [in square brackets]. All authors cited and only these must be included in the reference list. List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list the first three, then add “et al.”.
It is recommended to quote only articles already published or accepted for publication. Please avoid ‘in preparation’ or ‘personal communication’. Reference to articles that are accepted for publication may be cited as “in press”, whereas manuscripts that are still in preparation or submitted for publication should be referred to as “unpublished data”.
Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct citation.
Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the Index Medicus system (www.nlm.nih.gov).

References should be written as follows:

Papers published in journals: names and initials of authors, full title of paper, journal abbreviation (according to Index Medicus), year of publication, volume (in Arabic numerals), first and last page (example below):
Pigny P, Jonard S, Robert Y, Dewailly D. Serum anti-Mullerian hormone as a surrogate for antral follicle count for definition of the polycystic ovary syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006; 91: 941-945.

Papers published only with DOI numbers: names and initials of authors, full title of paper, journal abbreviation (according to Index Medicus), year of publication, doi (example below):
Pencak P, Czerwieńska B, Ficek R, et al. Calcification of coronary arteries and abdominal aorta in relation to traditional and novel risk factors of atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients. BMC Nephrol 2013; doi: 10.1186/1471-2369-14-10.

Papers published in electronic format: names and initials of authors, full title of paper, journal abbreviation (according to Index Medicus), year of publication, volume, page and http (example below):
Black CA. Delayed type hypersensitivity: Current theories with a historic perspective. Dermatol Online J 1999; 5: 7; http://dermatology.dclib.org/DOJvol5num1.

Books and monographs: names and initials of authors, full title, edition, publisher, place, year (examples below):
Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Delmar Publishers, Albany 1996.

Chapter in a book: names and initials of authors, full title, edition, publisher, place, year, first and last page (example below):
Olszanecka-Glinianowicz M, Chudek J, Kołłajtis-Dołowy A, Milewicz A, Krzyżanowska-Świniarska B, Więcek A. Stan odżywienia i uzębienia u osób w wieku podeszłym w Polsce. In: Aspekty medyczne, psychologiczne, socjologiczne i ekonomiczne starzenia się ludzi w Polsce. Mossakowska M, Więcek A, Błędowski P (eds.). Termedia, Poznań 2012, pp. 335-357.

Conference proceedings: names and initials of authors, full title, name of congress, year, time, place, journal abbreviation, year, volume and supplement number, page (example below):
Jędrzejuk D, Milewicz A, Arkowska A, et al. How vitamin D deficiency is related to obesity and insulin resistance – PolSenior study. 19th European Congress on Obesity (ECO2012), Lyon [France] 2012; 09-12 May. Obes Facts 2012; 5 Suppl 1: p 81-82.


Proofs

Authors should keep a copy of their article, as proofs will be sent to them without the manuscript. Corrections to the proofs should be restricted to printer’s errors only; other alterations will be charged to the authors. In order to maintain rapid publication, proofs should be returned within 48 hours after receipt, preferably by fax, courier mail or e-mail. If the Publisher receives no response from the authors after 5 days, it will be assumed that there are no errors to correct and the article will be published.


Reprints

The complete article (printout version) in the PDF format will be included in the Internet sites. The printed version is available upon payment according to information provided in the price list.





ETHICAL STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES
Termedia Publishing House is committed to upholding standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publication process. We follow closely the industry associations, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), that set standards and provide guidelines for best practices in order to meet these requirements.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS
The author is obliged to prepare and send the article in accordance with the requirements set out in the journal Editor. Moreover the author is obliged to submit editorial complemented by a statement which will be included: a statement about the originality of the content of the article (work not yet published anywhere), the integrity of the copyrights of others, no conflict of interest or its application, as well as the superior permission to publish an article in the journal. Authors are responsible for disclosing all financial and personal relationships that might bias or be seen to bias their work.

AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA AND/OR WHO SHOULD BE LISTED AS A CONTRIBUTOR
Termedia Publishing House in the matter of authorship criteria and/or who should be listed as a contributor, respects standards recommended by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). Detailed information about those criteria you can find in COPE Report publicationethics.org/files/2003pdf12_0.pdf.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEWERS
Articles are selected for publication in double blind selection system and published in open access system. Reviewer shall review by the electronic system on the basis of questions prepared for a specific title. Reviewer is also possible to send individual comments to be published in the article content.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS
Editors are responsible for deciding which of the articles accepted for publication. Editors act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.