On television shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "The Resident" and "Chicago Med," physicians seem to always have the right answer. But when it comes to nutrition and dietary advice , that may not be the case. One of us is an assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics ; the other is a medical student with a master's degree in nutrition .
Both of us understand the powerful effects that food has on your health and longevity. A poor diet may lead to cardiovascular disease , diabetes , obesity and even psychological conditions like depression and anxiety . Diet-related diseases are the leading causes of death in the U.
S., and a poor diet is responsible for more deaths than smoking . These health problems are not only common and debilitating, but expensive.
Treating high blood pressure , diabetes and high cholesterol costs about US$400 billion per year. Within 25 years, those costs are expected to triple, to $1.3 trillion .
These facts support the need for physicians to give accurate advice about diet to help prevent these diseases. But how much does a typical physician know about nutrition? What doctors don't know In a 2023 survey of more than 1,000 U.S.
medical students, about 58% of respondents said they received no formal nutrition education while in medical school for four years. Those who did averaged about three hours of nutrition education per year. That is woefully short of the goals set by the U.
S. Committee on Nutrition in Medical Education back in 1985: that med students.