Opinion: Better nutrition education for doctors could help address diet-related diseases
November 5, 2024 — Many U.S. doctors are inadequately trained to provide their patients with practical advice about nutrition. However, this may be changing. In an Oct. 30 U.S. News and World Report commentary, David Eisenberg, adjunct associate professor of nutrition and director of culinary nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and co-authors outlined steps underway to improve nutrition education in medical schools—and the impact this could have on Americans’ diets and health.
Two years ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution calling for meaningful nutrition education for physicians and health professionals. In September, a panel of medical and nutrition experts including Eisenberg proposed a set of recommended nutrition competencies for medical students and physician trainees which could be used by accrediting bodies for medical schools and residency programs.
According to the commentary authors, comprehensive nutrition education would help enable doctors to counsel their patients on choosing foods that are healthy, affordable, delicious, and easy to prepare. This could be an important step towards addressing the nation’s high rates of diet-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease, they wrote. The authors also offered additional recommendations towards this goal, including expanding federal programs that support local food producers and provide nutrition benefits, and offering universal school meals.
“Beyond nutrition training for doctors, our nation needs to move toward a more systematic and strategic policy approach to address food as a critical determinant of health and well-being,” the authors wrote.
Read the U.S. News and World Report commentary: Doctors: It’s Your Turn to Tackle Nutrition
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