Doctors 'must train in nutrition'

Doctors 'must train in nutrition'

daily mail - doctors need nutritional training

Doctors in the UK are not given enough training in child nutrition, which can play a major part in good health in adulthood, an expert has warned.

Professor Alan Lucas, from University College London's Institute of Child Health, said the lack of medical training in paediatric nutrition was a serious problem.

Research has shown that how babies are fed in the early months of life can influence their risk of heart disease later on.

And the ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity means that nutritional advice to parents is also important, Prof Lucas said.

Now the UK's first stand-alone centre for paediatric nutrition is being created at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London.

Top London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop Weston has often been exasperated by the nutrition information given to her clients in the past by doctors. She said "More than 2 days training in nutrition would obviously help doctors to do their job better but the training is a minimum of 3 years to be a Nutritional therapist. Maybe Doctors should just make better use of the experts. Nutritional therapy could save the NHS billions."

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