Conflict of Interest Policy

Al GIZZAI: Public Health Nutrition Journal is committed to ensuring transparency, objectivity, and integrity in scientific publishing.  A conflict of interest may arise when financial, personal, professional, or institutional relationships could influence, or be perceived to influence, the research process, peer review, or editorial decisions.

1. Authors' Responsibilities

All authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest when submitting their manuscripts, including:

• Financial relationships, research funding, sponsorship, or consultancy.

• Employment, institutional affiliations, or professional relationships.

• Personal relationships or competing academic interests.

• Any other interests that may influence research findings or interpretations.

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest Statement in their manuscripts. If no conflicts exist, the following statement should be provided:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.”

2. Reviewers' Responsibilities

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could affect their impartiality. Reviewers with significant conflicts must decline the review invitation or withdraw from the review process.

3. Editors' Responsibilities

Editors must evaluate manuscripts objectively and disclose any conflicts of interest. Editors with potential conflicts must recuse themselves from editorial decisions concerning the affected manuscripts.

4. Disclosure and Management

The editorial team will assess disclosed conflicts and take appropriate measures to ensure editorial independence and research integrity. Disclosure does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from publication.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may result in editorial action, including manuscript rejection, publication of a correction, or other measures in accordance with COPE guidelines.