To the Editor: In Australia, cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes mellitus contribute to 56% of all deaths,1 and have a significant nutrition-related lifestyle component. In 2008, 68% of men and 55% women were classified as overweight or obese,1 and of those in residential aged care, 50% were moderately or severely malnourished.2 Accreditation standards for medical schools (currently under review) specify that medical graduates have the ability to apply nutrition knowledge in practice.3 Nutrition has been integrated into medical education in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada since 2001, and the medical profession has adopted nutrition competencies.4 However, no nutrition competencies have been included in Australian medical courses.
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- 1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National health survey: summary of results 2007–2008 (Reissue). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2008. (ABS Cat. No. 4362.0.) http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4364.0 (accessed Apr 2012).
- 2. Gaskill D, Black LJ, Isenring EA, et al. Malnutrition prevalence and nutrition issues in residential age care facilities. Australas J Ageing 2008; 27: 189-194.
- 3. Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand. Developing a framework of competencies for medical graduate outcomes, final report. Sydney: MDANZ, 2011. http://www. medicaldeans.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Competencies-Project-Final-Report1.pdf (accessed Apr 2012).
- 4. Liddell KC, Adams KM, Kohlmeier M, et al. The evolution of Nutrition in Medicine, a computer-assisted curriculum. Am J Clin Nutr 2006; 83: 956S-962S.
- 5. Dietitians Association of Australia. Nutrition in medical education in Australia. Aust J Nutr Diet 1992; 49: 140-144.
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