The need to advance nutrition education in the training of health care professionals and recommended research to evaluate implementation and effectiveness

Abstract

Nutrition is a recognized determinant in 3 (ie, diseases of the heart, malignant neoplasms, cerebrovascular diseases) of the top 4 leading causes of death in the United States. However, many health care providers are not adequately trained to address lifestyle recommendations that include nutrition and physical activity behaviors in a manner that could mitigate disease development or progression. This contributes to a compelling need to markedly improve nutrition education for health care professionals and to establish curricular standards and requisite nutrition and physical activity competencies in the education, training, and continuing education for health care professionals. This article reports the present status of nutrition and physical activity education for health care professionals, evaluates the current pedagogic models, and underscores the urgent need to realign and synergize these models to reflect evidence-based and outcomes-focused education.

Figures

FIGURE 1.

An example of nutrition integration throughout 4 y of medical school in basic science courses, problem-based nutrition, and clinical clerkships. B12, vitamin B-12; IF, intrinsic factor.

FIGURE 2.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition Care Process and model (71).