Stancic Saray, Cullimore Josh, Barnard Neal
FACLM, Director of Medical Education, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC (SS); Director of Preventive Medicine, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC (JC); and Adjunct Faculty, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC (NB).
Am J Lifestyle Med. 2022 May 26;16(4):434-438. doi: 10.1177/15598276221104023. eCollection 2022 Jul-Aug.
The field of medicine, despite its prominent influence in society, has invested little to promote healthy lifestyle choices. The consequence of this is reflected in our ever-rising chronic disease statistics, most notably obesity and diabetes rates. This is especially regrettable considering overwhelming evidence confirms most non-communicable disease is preventable by modifying our diets. In light of this critical knowledge that optimizing our nutrition could save innumerable lives, one would naturally assume physicians would be readily practicing its promotion with their patients. Yet, that is far from true. By no fault of their own. Medical schools, entrusted with the responsibility of educating our future healthcare leaders, have managed to largely bypass the topic of arguably the most powerful healthcare intervention known to mankind. In fact, on average, medical schools offer an anemic number of hours of nutrition education over 4 years. What little is offered is focused on biochemistry and nutrient deficiencies, none of which prepares a physician in training for meaningful application in clinical care. This lapse in nutrition education continues throughout post-graduate training; in a recent survey of more than 600 cardiologists, 90% reported they had not received needed nutrition education during training. Although we agree that not all physicians must be experts in nutrition, in the very least all should have knowledge of rudimentary and essential facts. We offer this commentary on six vital clinical topics, to increase awareness amongst physicians as to the importance of diet and its role in human health.
医学领域尽管在社会中有着显著影响，但在促进健康生活方式选择方面投入甚少。其后果反映在我们不断攀升的慢性病统计数据中，最明显的是肥胖率和糖尿病发病率。考虑到压倒性的证据证实大多数非传染性疾病可通过改变饮食来预防，这尤其令人遗憾。鉴于优化营养可拯救无数生命这一关键知识，人们自然会认为医生会欣然向患者推广这一理念。然而，事实远非如此。这并非他们自身的过错。肩负着培养未来医疗保健领导者责任的医学院，在很大程度上忽略了这个堪称人类已知最有力的医疗保健干预措施的话题。事实上，医学院平均在四年内提供的营养教育课时少得可怜。所提供的少量内容聚焦于生物化学和营养缺乏，这些都无法让接受培训的医生为在临床护理中的实际应用做好准备。这种营养教育的缺失在研究生培训期间仍持续存在；在最近一项对600多名心脏病专家的调查中，90%的人报告称他们在培训期间未接受所需的营养教育。尽管我们认同并非所有医生都必须成为营养专家，但至少所有人都应掌握基本且重要的事实。我们就六个重要临床主题发表此评论，以提高医生对饮食重要性及其在人类健康中作用的认识。
