Get your European Journal of Nutrition paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 11 August, 2026
Submitting to European Journal of Nutrition goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the European Journal of Nutrition guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to European Journal of Nutrition. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the European Journal of Nutrition journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the European Journal of Nutrition guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the European Journal of Nutrition guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | European J Nutr requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract required: 150 to 250 words. Must be divided into four sections: Purpose (stating the main purposes and research question), Methods, Results, and Conclusion. For prospectively registered trials, trial registration number and date of registration must be included. For retrospectively registered trials, trial registration number, date of registration, and the phrase 'retrospectively registered' must be included. Short Communications, Letters to the Editors, and Comments do not require an abstract |
| Main text | Original Articles: max 50,000 characters (including abstract, keywords, tables, captions, and references). Review Articles: max 100,000 characters (including abstract, keywords, tables, captions, and references). Short Communications: max 25,000 characters total, max 10 references, max 4 authors. Letters to the Editors: max 25,000 characters total, max 10 references, max 4 authors. Comments: max 50,000 characters (including tables, captions, and references). Character limits include spaces. Exceptions to these limits can be made only with the agreement of the responsible Editor |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 4 to 6 keywords required for indexing purposes. Keywords are not required for Short Communications, Letters to the Editors, or Comments |
| References | Numbered system. Reference citations in the text are identified by numbers in square brackets (e.g., [3], [5], [1-3, 7]). The reference list should be numbered consecutively in the order of citation in the text. Format follows Vancouver-style: authors (all authors for up to 6 authors; first 6 followed by 'et al.' for more), year in parentheses, title, journal abbreviation per ISSN List of Title Word Abbreviations, volume:page numbers. DOIs should be included as full DOI links (e.g., https://doi.org/abc). Example: Gamelin FX, Baquet G, Berthoin S, Thevenet D, Nourry C, Nottin S, Bosquet L (2009) Effect of high intensity intermittent training on heart rate variability in prepubescent children. Eur J Appl Physiol 105:731-738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-008-0955-8 |
| Peer review | (The submission guidelines do not explicitly state the peer review model used by this journal. Springer journals typically use single-blind peer review as default, with some offering double-blind as an option, but the specific policy for European Journal of Nutrition is not stated in the official author guidelines.) |
| Submission | submission.springernature.com/new-submission/394/3 |
Read the European Journal of Nutrition guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to European Journal of Nutrition in under a page.
Skim two or three recent European J Nutr papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the European Journal of Nutrition journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the European Journal of Nutrition guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.