Despite an obesity epidemic and the increasing burden of chronic, diet-related disease in the United States, medical schools have continued to neglect nutrition education over the last several decades,”
Today’s medical students receive the educational equivalent of a fun size piece of candy with it comes to nutrition training- tasty for a moment, gone the next- and not helpful in the long run.
Second-year Harvard University Medical School student,
Nathaniel P. Morris laments the current state of affairs from a first-hand
perspective, in an editorial in the JAMA Internal Medicine.
“Despite
an obesity epidemic and the increasing burden of chronic, diet-related disease
in the United States, medical schools have continued to neglect nutrition
education over the last several decades,” he wrote. His own school’s course on
nutrition was terrific – for the mere nine hours it lasted. There were no exams
or interactions with patients. The lecture on obesity lasted less than a nice
dinner out – just 45 minutes. In contrast, Morris notes, the school’s
curriculum includes about 60 hours of cardiology instruction in the second year
alone.
“Poor nutrition is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States,”
Morris says. “Dietary risks now compete with and in many ways outpace the
deleterious effects of tobacco, physical inactivity and other historically
substantial health risk. Almost 70 percent of adults are now obese or
overweight, and nutrition-related issues are estimated to account for more than
25 percent of visits to primary care providers.”
The future doctor urges fellow physicians to get on board
and be part of the solution, not the problem.
Morris states, “Medical students gain knowledge and familiarity with
prescription drugs, complicated late-stage treatments, and specialized care.
But physicians need other skills as well.” “The time is long past due for a change of
course” he says.
