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The Role of Preventive Nutrition in Clinical Practice

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Preventive Nutrition

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Abstract

Nutrition plays a central role in health by virtue of the simple fact that everyone must eat as a matter of survival. Complexity arises when the choices of foods and accompanying nutrients lead to either health benefits or detrimental effects. Nutritional factors contribute significantly to the burden of preventable illnesses and premature deaths, as detailed in previous chapters in this volume. Indeed, nutritional factors are associated with 4 of the 10 major causes of death: coronary heart disease (CHD), cancer, stroke, and type 2 diabetes (1). It is estimated that about 16 and 9% of mortality from any cause in US men and women, respectively, could be eliminated by the adoption of desirable dietary behaviors (2). The impact of nutrition on altering risk for chronic disease is generally slow and only gradually evident after lengthy exposure to a given dietary pattern. However, because we all must eat, changing detrimental eating patterns to healthier patterns can have a significant impact on preventable disease risk factors for the individual and the population at large (3).

• The impact of nutrition on altering risk for chronic disease is generally slow and only gradually evident after lengthy exposure to a given dietary pattern.

• Changing detrimental eating patterns to healthier patterns can have a significant impact on preventable disease risk factors for the individual and the population at large.

• From the nutrition perspective much of disease prevention is about making small and important changes in the diets of as many people as possible.

• Dietary Guidelines attempt to provide evidence-based recommendations for diet and physical activity that may lead to higher quality of life and improve longevity.

• Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains comprise the basis of a healthful diet; reduced-fat dairy products are also key components.

• Adherence to the Dietary Guidelines is low among the US population and a significant effort is needed to improve this problem.

• The seriousness of the current epidemic of nutrition-related disorders demands both community-level interventions as well as clinical preventive services aimed to impact patients’ personal health practices.

• Assessment of individual disease risk and dietary intake is the starting point for tailoring dietary advice based on recommended guidelines.

• Office visits offer an opportunity to provide nutrition assessment and counseling and impact morbidity and mortality. Brief clinician counseling can be effective in inducing positive lifestyle changes.

• Evidence supports the use of formal systems to screen for risky dietary patterns and sedentary lifestyle in clinical settings, increasing the likelihood of prioritizing nutrition counseling.

• A patient-centered collaborative approach is the basis for comprehensive and complex behavior change, where the physician first assesses patients’ readiness for behavior change, helps address barriers to change, and negotiates goals for lifestyle changes.

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Acknowledgements

This chapter was adapted, with permission, from Heimburger DC, Ard JD (eds). Handbook of Clinical Nutrition. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Mosby Elsevier, 2006. Portions of the material on behavioral counseling were written with support from Nutrition Academic Award grant 1 KO7 HL 03934 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frank A. Franklin, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Nutrition Sciences and Medicine, UAB Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1675 University Boulevard, 35294-3360, Birmingham, AL, USA

    A. Julian Munoz MD, MSPH & Douglas C. Heimburger MD, MS

  2. Departments of Nutrition Sciences and Medicine, UAB Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1675 University Blvd, Webb 439, 35294-3360, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Jamy D. Ard MD

Authors
  1. A. Julian Munoz MD, MSPH
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  3. Douglas C. Heimburger MD, MS
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. New Products Research, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Littleton Road 1500 , Parsippany, 07054, U.S.A.

    Adrianne Bendich

  2. Inst. Human Nutrition, Columbia University, West 168th St. 630 , New York, 10032, U.S.A.

    Richard J. Deckelbaum

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Munoz, A.J., Ard, J.D., Heimburger, D.C. (2010). The Role of Preventive Nutrition in Clinical Practice. In: Bendich, A., Deckelbaum, R. (eds) Preventive Nutrition. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-542-2_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-542-2_32

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