the missing ingredient for better health for all

Research shows that GPs are highly trusted as healthcare providers. nutritional advice. Despite this, and although medical appointments are an ideal way to talk about diet, doctors fail to provide nutritional advice or refer their patients to other healthcare personnel who could help them.

Nutrition plays an important role in clinical guidelines created for GP use as it is the basis of good and bad health. But not only do doctors not give dietary advice, research published today in the Medical Journal of Australia shows that they also do not test for obesity, a risk factor for early mortality explicitly linked to diet.

Cut the noise

Much of the problem is social rather than medical: nutritional messages are inherently “noisy”, with an abundance of specific – and often contradictory – advice available through advertising, the media and from family and friends. intentional. We constantly hear new messages about food from sources that lack credibilityand these messages create confusion about what it means to have a healthy diet.

GPs are in the ideal position to help people cut through the ‘nutrition noise’, encourage them to eat a healthier diet and show them what advice to trust.

Doctors know diet is important but providing nutrition advice faces competing priorities related to often more pressing health needs. On top of that, many are uncertain about how effective is it they can help people improve their diet.

But if they feel they don’t have enough time during appointments, or enough nutrition knowledge or skills to provide the right advice to their patients, doctors can refer them to dietitians or nutrition services. non-profit that supports healthy eating.

Patients report feeling confused on the role of different health professionals in nutrition, particularly dietitians and nutritionists. It also highlights the important role doctors play in helping patients cut through the “nutrition noise” by telling them what advice they can trust and where to find safe, evidence-based advice.

Nutrition education

Many doctors do not feel comfortable giving nutritional advice because they are not well informed on the subject. Indeed, the extent of nutrition education provided to medical students and physicians has traditionally been viewed by educators and government agencies as inadequate. But attempts to change medical education by integrating nutritional knowledge are underway in Australia and overseas.

A team of Australian medical and nutrition professionals developed competency standards describing the expected level of nutrition knowledge and skills to be developed during medical training. The syllabus of any medical course can be compared against these standards to make necessary modifications.

Additionally, evidence-based online training modules developed by international institutions, such as the Nutrition in Medicine course created by the University of North Carolina, can also be integrated into existing course materials. And independent international educational groups such as the Need for a Nutrition Education/Innovation Program (NNEdPro) are starting to offer free or low-cost continuing education to all doctors, including general practitioners and hospital doctors, on the topic of nutrition.

Supporting GPs

There are three areas where GPs need support to provide safe and effective nutritional advice. First, they need to be encouraged to bring up the topic of nutrition at every appointment. After all, the health of every patient can be improved by a healthy diet.

A review of 2015 GPs can help patients improve their diet by providing simple, brief nutritional advice. But these studies were all interventions – that is, doctors were told what specific nutritional advice to give, so it did not reflect real-world situations.

Since some doctors are unsure of how and when to approach the topic of nutrition, they should be encouraged to focus on launch these discussions as a priority for all patients.

Second, patients themselves could be the answer to starting conversations about nutrition; research shows that the most powerful nutrition predictor discussed during a consultation is a patient request for nutritional advice.

This means patients need to be proactive about their nutritional needs. And it highlights opportunities for targeted initiatives, like encouraging patients in waiting rooms to consider asking questions about nutrition during their next visit.

Finally, once the subject of nutrition is broached, the key to effective GP care is to focus on supporting healthy behavioral changes, rather than specific information about foods or nutrients. .

Promote evidence-based guidelines, such as Australian Guide to Healthy Eatingand encourage patients through simple but coherent messages Statements such as “it is important for your health to eat well” and “eating more fruits and vegetables would improve your health” are likely to form the basis of effective care. Such statements demonstrate that GPs value the foods patients eat, which is key to motivating diet improvement.