Health-related Culinary Education: A Summary of Representative Emerging Programs for Health Professionals and Patients

Background: Nutrition medical education training programs that are focused on home cooking are emerging. Objective: This short communication describes the first synchronous tele-nutrition medical education training program using a novel Culinary Coaching (CC) model. Design: Seven health coaches were trained and each coach delivered CC programs to four patients (28 total). Evaluations included:1) two questionnaires before, immediately after, and six months post training program; and 2) one questionnaire after each patient program. Results: CC training significantly improved coaches’ attitudes about and confidence to deliver CC from pre-program means of 3.61 and 3.65 (out of 5), respectively, to post-program means, 3.77 (p<0.01) and 3.86 (p<0.05), respectively, and remained higher 6 months after the training program (3.93, p<0.01; 3.93, p<0.05). Health coaches described a high usage of CC principles and tools through the patient programs. Conclusions: This early evidence suggests that the CC model can be successfully expanded to health coaches, thus improving nutritional care.

Given the economic burden and numerous morbidities associated with obesity and poor dietary choices, it is increasingly important for medical students to receive education on nutrition and preventive medicine so that they are equipped to advise patients about healthy lifestyle choices. Currently, 71% of US medical schools do not reach the minimum benchmark of 25 hours of nutrition education set by the National Academy of Sciences. In order to improve the quality and quantity of nutrition education at the Keck School of Medicine of USC (KSOM), medical students and faculty have partnered with LA Kitchen (LAK), a local teaching kitchen, and the Wellness Center at LA County Medical Center (LAC+USC). They developed a hands-on preclinical culinary and nutrition course that aims to teach students practical skills and knowledge that they will be able to apply to their own lives and pass onto patients. Following the completion of the first three years of the course (2016-2018), analysis suggests that the class was well-received and has improved students' nutrition knowledge, confidence in lifestyle counseling, and personal culinary skills. Given these highly encouraging observations, the project is currently aimed at incorporating nutrition education more broadly into the required preclinical curriculum at KSOM.

Diet is a universal influence on health and one of the major determinants of both years in life (longevity) and life in years (vitality). Diet is also a uniquely complex variable, encompassing nearly infinite variations in composition and concentration, making it difficult to study. Study design and the particular answers at which a given trial is aimed exert considerable influence on findings, and these, in turn, may be influenced by the biases and a priori preferences of researchers, funders, or commentators. To help patients access credible information and make informed lifestyle choices, clinicians must be able to do so themselves, yet the topic to date receives little attention in medical education. This commentary explores barriers to dietary counseling, strategies for improving medical education and clinical practice with respect to nutrition, and the ethical importance of sharing dietary information with patients.