Prescription Diet: Barriers for Preventive Medicine in the Current Healthcare Landscape

Abstract

Dietary interventions and dietary supplements have been clinically underutilized in preventing and combating obesity worldwide. Despite the substantial amount of research supporting the use of diet as a therapeutic approach, translational research and clinical implementation have been slow, with sporadic efforts and little improvement. This is due to challenges involving the current state of medical education and healthcare policies, physician attitudes, institutional procedures, and the balance of responsibility in patientcentered care. Despite the issues in translational research and analysis of clinical outcomes, significant data supports the benefit of dietary interventions for treating specific conditions and promoting general health. Here, we discuss the protective role of diet in numerous pathologies and the consideration of preventive care in current clinical practice.