The relevance of clinical nutrition education and role models to the practice of medicine

Clinical nutrition is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disease s that affect the intake, absorption, and metabolism of dietary constituent s and with the promotion of health through the prevention of diet related d iseases. Adult diseases of clinical nutrition encompass the most common cau ses of mortality in the developed world and include obesity with its co-mor bidities of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemias, increased risks of cardi ovascular disease, some cancers, and pulmonary failure; intestinal disorder s related to inadequate nutrient absorption; eating disorders; and malnutri tion associated with chronic illness and surgical trauma. Scientific advanc es on the relationship of dietary substances to the cellular mechanisms of disease occur with regularity and frequency. Yet, despite the prevalence of nutritional disorders in clinical medicine and increasing scientific evide nce on the significance of dietary modification to disease prevention, pres ent day practitioners of medicine are typically untrained in the relationsh ip of diet to health and disease. In the absence of reliable medical advice on nutrition, patients increasingly turn to herbal dietary supplements, co stly diet schemes for weight reduction, and other unproved and potentially harmful remedies. Standardization of curricula for nutrition education of m edical students and trainees and the provision of knowledgeable clinical nu trition specialist educators and role models in medical institutions is inc reasingly relevant to the cost-effective integration of nutritional concept s into medical practice.