Changing Eating Habits for the Medical Profession

Lesser, Lenard I.; Cohen, Deborah A.; Brook, Robert H.

doi:10.1001/2012.jama.10427

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As Lesser et al 1 recently pointed out, health professionals have called for changes in the food environment in their communities, and yet little attention has been paid to the nutrient-poor quality of the food where physicians work, meet, and learn. Just as problematic, and despite its minimal cost and proven value to health, essentially no attention has been directed toward incorporating short bouts of physical activity into the organizational routine during meetings, conferences, and other ordinary, daily medical professional gatherings.…”

Section: B Eing Sedentary Is a Way Of Life For Many Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With an estimated 40 000 accredited continuing medical education events in the United States, more than 9000 residency programs, and tens of thousands of research meetings annually funded by the federal government and by foundation grants, 1 opportunities abound for incorporating brief and energizing bouts of physical activity into organizational routine. A Canadian study showed that 55% of male physicians (n = 2121) and 25% of female physi-cians (n=1092) were either overweight or obese, and most did not meet recommended MVPA levels.…”

Section: Abundant Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Changing Physical Activity Participation for the Medical Profession

Yancey

Sallis²,

Bastani³

2013

JAMA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: B Eing Sedentary Is a Way Of Life For Many Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Abundant Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing Physical Activity Participation for the Medical Profession

Yancey

Sallis²,

Bastani³

2013

JAMA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Surrounding communities might benefit, too, as cafeteria policies may reach the broader world with messages about what does and does not promote health [4,5]. For instance, hospitals could recognize local restaurants that offer and promote nutritious food [5]. This could transform the food offered in proximity to a major medical center.…”

Section: Local and Global Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hospital policy can also send a message to the community. With smoking, it was hospitals that started the movement to ban smoking in public spaces [5]. In the food arena, Montefiore Medical Center in New York recently banned sugar-sweetened beverages in cafeterias on all of its campuses [6], sending a very clear message to New York City and the nation as whole that such beverages are not healthy.…”

Section: Local and Global Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ethics of Hospital Cafeteria Food

Lesser

Lucan²

2013

AMA Journal of Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

all serve on their hospital board, which met to discuss a proposed new policy to revamp the cafeteria and inpatient dietary offerings. The board members expressed many opinions about this issue, and the physicians debated the issue hotly.Standing to address the board, Dr. Ashby said, half jokingly, "Esteemed colleagues, I believe that it is simply unethical to be serving patients' families and visitors and our staff members the unhealthy food that is currently being sold in this institution. It is our responsibility as a health-promoting organization to foster all aspects of health. The hospital is a role model for our visitors and staff, and we must set high-quality standards when it comes to our nutritional offerings."Next to the podium was Dr. Bennett. "While I agree with Dr. Ashby that we want to promote health," states Dr. Bennett, "When it comes down to it, it's every person's responsibility to make his or her own food choices. Our main responsibility as the hospital's representatives is not to change individual behavior but to serve the lowincome population in our community-and to do that we must ensure the fiscal future of our institution. Our current food vendor is the only option that makes that possible. In order to uphold both our fiscal responsibility and our duty to educate the public about health issues, we could post the ingredients, calories, and nutritional content such as the amount of fat, cholesterol, and sodium in the cafeteria offerings and then leave it up to the visitors and staff to make their own choices." Dr. Morgan piped up, "While I think that Dr. Ashby and Dr. Bennett both bring up valid points and have some solutions that we might want to consider, we should not forget that, as a large hospital, decisions we make about the food served in our cafeteria affect not only the health of the patients, their visitors, and employees, but also the broader community, society, and the environment." Commentary A Hospital's Mission to Promote Health and Healthy EatingBefore considering ethics related to a hospital's cafeteria offerings, it may be useful to consider a hospital's mission more broadly. Hospitals have traditionally engaged in treating acute illnesses and had financial incentives to keep beds full. Now they also manage chronic conditions and have financial incentives to keep patients well. Hospitals today have incentives to prevent readmissions and, more generally, to promote community wellness and public health. As large employers, hospitals are

show abstract

“…The nutritional quality of food served at meetings and conferences has been previously commented on and changes have been proposed (8). Cardiology fellows frequently have didactic lectures and conferences that provide breakfast and lunch.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet and Exercise During Cardiology Fellowship Training

Liang

2014

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

C ardiologists and cardiology fellows routinely recommend lifestyle modifications for patients with chronic cardiovascular conditions, such as coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure. In particular, exercise and eating a healthy diet comprise the backbone of recommendations provided to patients. Ironically, however, providers often do not adhere to their own recommendations.It is well known and accepted that cardiology is one of the busiest, most demanding fellowships among the internal medicine subspecialties, and the additional 3-plus years of training to be a cardiologist can be stressful. Many have other personal responsibilities related to their families (spouses or children), as well as financial stressors. Exorbitant debts resulting from a decade's worth of tuition fees may drive already-overworked fellows to take up additional clinical duties in their "free time," such as moonlighting, to make ends meet.Given the demanding schedules and rigorous clinical and research responsibilities of cardiovascular fellowship, it is understandable why fellows often find it difficult to eat healthily and make time to exercise. Despite this, it is imperative that trainees develop good lifestyle habits early on during training such that optimal health can be maintained throughout their careers.DIET. The obesity epidemic in America is growing at an exponential pace, and physicians are not immune.The Physician's Health Study reported that 44% of male physicians age >40 years were overweight or obese, and that body mass index directly correlated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (1).Scheduling difficulties, frequent overnight calls, and moonlighting shifts often make it difficult for cardiology fellows to eat meals at regular times.Skipped meals and late-night eating are extremely commonly seen practices during training. The practice of meal-skipping has been associated with obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes, and dyslipidemia (2-6). Cahill et al. (7) recently analyzed more than 25,000 men age >45 years and found that skipping breakfast was associated with a 27% increased risk of coronary heart disease, whereas late-night eating was associated with a 55% increased risk (7).The nutritional quality of food served at meetings and conferences has been previously commented on and changes have been proposed (8). Cardiology fellows frequently have didactic lectures and conferences that provide breakfast and lunch. On many occasions, those lunches consist of high-calorie (high-fat, high-sugar), high-sodium, low-nutritional value foods which cardiologists ironically routinely recommend that their patients avoid (e.g., pizza, desserts, sugary beverages). Meals provided at morning and noon conferences in many programs generally exhibit a paucity of lean meats, whole grains, fresh fruits, or vegetables. Although availability of these unhealthy foods at conferences may be better than the alternative (skipping breakfast and lunch altogether due to time constraints), physicians must make an extra effo...

show abstract

Changing Eating Habits for the Medical Profession

Cited by 17 publications

References 5 publications

Changing Physical Activity Participation for the Medical Profession

Changing Physical Activity Participation for the Medical Profession

The Ethics of Hospital Cafeteria Food

Diet and Exercise During Cardiology Fellowship Training

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About