Future doctors may be able to advise their patients on nutrition and food recommendations, according to a study published on Sept. 30 in JAMA Network Open.
Panelists unanimously agreed that doctors should be trained to give nutrition and food recommendations for the prevention and treatment of disease.
Nutrition competency is defined as the fundamental knowledge and skills needed for adequate nutrition education.
Hope Barkoukis, a panelist and chair of the Department of Nutrition at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, told The Epoch Times that she believes that medical schools will accept the recommendations.
“I think the wheel is turning to a greater likelihood that schools will realize the importance of nutrition training beyond the standard, cell-level information,” Barkoukis said.
Nutrition Taught at All Levels
The panel recommended that students be trained in fundamental nutrition knowledge and related assessment and diagnosis, as well as treatment and referral for specific conditions. This training would be implemented across all levels of medical education, including undergraduate courses.The panelists also recommended that competency in nutrition be included in physician licensing and board certification examinations.
“Physicians have repeatedly acknowledged insufficient training in practical skills to advise patients about food and nutrition,” the panelists said in their consensus statement.
- Foundational nutritional knowledge, such as the content of foods and dietary sources of nutrients
- Assessment of patients’ nutritional status via food history, body measuring, and lab testing
- Knowledge of public health nutrition, including how it reduces disease and how to improve diet by access to healthy food
- Collaborative support from other health professionals to deliver nutrition care for specific conditions
- Referral to other professionals to help patients reach their health goals
“Currently, [doctors’] typical training does not include lifestyle medicine and nutrition—which is very unfortunate,” she said.
Twenty-two panelists are involved with nutrition education. Some have written curricula related to culinary medicine, a new field of study that uses food and cooking to improve health and wellness.
“Dietary patterns are one of the strongest behavioral influences on disease risk regardless of individual genetics,” the panelists wrote. “Seven of the 10 leading causes of death in the US are directly affected by diet.”
‘Bad Information’ Worse Than No Information
Katy Talento, an epidemiologist who was not on the panel but served as the lead White House health advisor from 2016 to 2018, supports the proposal.“I think it’s worse to have bad information than no information.”
She said that while she was earning her master’s degree in epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the school was earning accolades for its erroneous recommendations about the causes of heart disease. The federal government then based its health policies on these recommendations, which came from research funded by the food industry.
“They recommended following the food pyramid, which prioritizes—above all other foods—processed carbohydrates such as cereals and pasta, including ultra-processed foods,” Talento said. “Now we see the result of that: a diabetes and obesity epidemic.”
There is no more powerful health influencer than a physician, she said.
“It is so diabolical when they get it wrong,” Talento said. “That is why it is so critical that these doctors get it right at these medical schools.”
“Culinary medicine is currently taught in at least 34 medical schools across the US,” they wrote, noting that medical students who receive this instruction appear to change their own eating habits and begin discussing food and nutrition with their patients.
“Poor diet and nutrition have led to epidemic levels of obesity in America, with nearly 40 percent of adults currently obese and models projecting that nearly 60 percent of today’s children will be obese by the age of 35,” the resolution reads, noting that almost half of Americans have prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes.
In contrast, less than 1 percent had the conditions 50 years ago.
“These conditions can be prevented or reversed by the adoption of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle,” the resolution reads.
The Cost of Poor Nutrition
Increased rates of chronic disease come at a high financial cost, with Medicare spending reaching almost $800 billion in 2019—15 percent of all federal spending, according to the resolution. The federal government also provides the largest direct funding source for graduate medical education, costing about $10.3 billion annually.“We should be using the tools nature has given us, such as sleep and sunlight and healthy, whole foods,” Talento said.
Dr. Jaclyn Albin, a panelist and director of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Culinary Medicine Program, said she is hopeful for a new generation of physicians who confidently assess the role of diet in nearly every health condition and collaborate with their dietitian colleagues.
“What we eat is absolutely a top risk factor for not only early death but immeasurable suffering across acute and chronic diseases,” Albin told The Epoch Times. “Society is awakening to this reality, and it will take all of us to ensure a healthier future for our own loved ones and the larger community.”
Copy
