How Should Physicians Counsel Patients Who Live in Food Deserts?

Abstract

In this case, a physician wonders what he should do to help make nutrient-dense foods available in underserved neighborhoods. I argue that improving diets of people who live in food deserts is a complex problem at the intersection of culture, education, and economics that will require community partnerships and clinician self-education to solve. CaseAt a community meeting, Dr D presented his research on physician attitudes toward and work habits in food deserts and the obstacles that prevent physicians from promoting nutritious diets to patients with low income. Dr D found that physicians have limited training in foods, nutrition, and behavior change counseling, all of which are poorly reimbursed by insurance companies and Medicaid. At the end of the presentation, a local advocate for community services who wanted to eliminate food deserts by building fullservice grocery stores asked, "In this day of limited availability of healthy foods and not enough resources to buy them, shouldn't insurance companies, food banks, and physicians do more to ensure that nutritious food is available in our underserved communities?"