As a physician, I have to admit that most of my training on nutrition was limited to several brief lectures during the first two years of medical school. Yet, one of the first orders of business I perform when a patient is admitted to the hospital is what kind of diet they should follow.

The diets to choose from are generally well thought out and tailored to the type of patient being admitted. Simply put, people with high blood pressure or those with heart failure are put on a salt restricted diet, where as those with coronary artery disease usually follow a low cholesterol, low fat diet. 

All diabetic patients get a carbohydrate restricted diet, and those with morbidly obesity will get their calories restricted. Further instructions as to what type of diet to follow at home will commence prior to being dismissed from the hospital.

Unfortunately, most physicians find it too time consuming to discuss a diet plan with their patients. We spend most of our time treating the disease rather preventing the cause of what got them into trouble in the first place. 

Even though our nutritional education was limited in medical school, I can sum up what I learned in one sentence: “The more you eat—the fatter you become.”  Who needs to spend any more time on the subject then that? 

As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat.”  No lecture on nutrition is going to teach me that. I see it first hand on a daily basis. A fast food nation is what we demand, and the food industry has responded. As a result, we are the fattest nation in the world. Now that we are suffering from obesity, our society now wants a slim fast plan to correct the problem.

Rather then focusing our limited medical resources on prevention of obesity, we spend multi-billions of dollars treating diseases related to obesity such as diabetes and heart disease. One thing is for certain, we will bankrupt our children’s future if we continue this trend.

We cannot leave it up to the medical schools to teach future physicians the basics of nutrition. We must start a lot earlier than that. Our public and private schools must find a way to change the way our children think about food. Otherwise, the investment and commitment we have in public education and the “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND,” will have been for naught. 

As obesity trends rise in our youth, so will the diseases of the future. The children at risk are those that do not eat right, and many will end up suffering from diabetes and heart disease as a result.

Not only should more be done in nutritional education at the elementary level, our school lunch menu needs to change as well. The school systems should offer a healthier lunch menu rather than allowing the student an opportunity to purchase their food or beverage from a vending machine next to their locker.   

But don’t just leave it up to the school system to teach our children good nutrition; parents have to play a major role in this as well. Mom and dad need to be just as concerned about what their children are eating in school as to what they are learning in school.   

Obesity and its complications are in epidemic proportions, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars spent each year on treating disease. In order to reverse this trend, we need to start early in life by educating and encouraging healthy food choices. 

I would not wait to get to medical school to start your education on nutrition.  I would encourage all parents to get involved by changing the way we think about nutrition.  The health and welfare of our children’s future is our future. 

Once the public demands change, our food industry and government bodies will follow suit in order to make that change happen. Our government needs to address childhood obesity or suffer the long-term financial consequences of treating complications of obesity including diabetes and heart disease. They can call their new initiative—“No Child Left with a Big Behind.”