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Letters to the Editor
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Nutrition
Pharmacists should not waste time on nutrition
From Dr S. B. Tree
I read the conference report “Choosing health” (PJ, 1/8
January, p22) with some interest and I would like to comment on two issues
from the point of view of a clinical dietitian, who both practises and
teaches dietetics.
I should first like to comment on the fact that the Government is to
start a new campaign to raise people’s awareness of the risks of
obesity. Has the Government looked at efforts to combat obesity in other
countries? Here in the US, the obesity epidemic worsens in spite of numerous
federal initiatives. Nutrition professionals have, for many years, debated
the reasons and believe that it is caused by a number of factors, including
a sedentary life-style, over-reliance on the car, an abundant supply
of cheap, nutrient-sparse and fat-, sugar- and sodium-dense convenience
foods and an increasing tendency to consume food prepared outside the
home. None of the government-sponsored campaigns has achieved any success
in the face of relentless marketing, decreased time and ability for food
preparation, and the availability of cheap, processed food. In addition,
many people never will do anything the government tells them to do.
Secondly, how does Pamela Mason justify a pharmacist’s role in
transmitting nutrition messages to the public? Have there been any research
studies on the effectiveness of this approach? Perhaps one should be
undertaken. I would like to suggest that, instead of pharmacists taking
on yet another burden solely because of their ready access to the public
and the “insufficient numbers of dietitians”, they should
concentrate on what they do best, ie, counselling on drugs and clinical
medicine, instead of wasting time on delivering nutrition messages. Nutrition
educators have long accepted that the delivery of knowledge (contained
in messages) is the least effective method to initiate and sustain behaviour
change to adopt healthy eating habits. Perhaps one of the projects the
Government could undertake is examining why there is a dearth of dietitians.
In conclusion, may I share with you an anecdote from a nutrition education
class I taught? The students thought that if the price of convenience
foods were doubled and that of fruits and vegetables halved, it might
go a fair way to halt the accelerating rise in weight.
Susan B. Tree
New York
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PAMELA MASON states:
I agree wholeheartedly with Dr Tree — pharmacists
should concentrate on providing pharmaceutical care. I am sure no
one would argue with that. In providing pharmaceutical care, however,
pharmacists
have the opportunity and, I believe, the responsibility to deliver
nutrition information. This may include advice about diet or a supplement
in relation to the medicine being taken or the condition the patient
has. I would also argue that pharmacists should take nutrition seriously
as part of their growing public health remit. Although pharmacists
should not pretend to be dietitians, I believe there is a role for
them in providing and reinforcing nutritional advice in the context
of pharmaceutical care. And, yes, we do need some good quality studies
to show whether or not such activity is effective as one of many
methods, including price policies, for encouraging better dietary
habits in
the population. |
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal