NutriModule aims to equip future doctors with nutrition knowledge to improve patients’ eating habits, moving away from instant and automatic medication approaches. To achieve this, we designed a practical course to be delivered in medical schools to engage students with real–life, and concrete examples of how nutrition plays a role in medical treatment and wellbeing. Through the module, students acquired knowledge to assess and recommend suitable nutritional solutions for various conditions, thereby fostering a more holistic and personalised approach to patient care. Improved nutrition knowledge will lead to improved patient outcomes and enable an understanding of the role of specific nutrients to identify appropriate dietary interventions alongside conventional treatments.
According to WHO Europe, 80% of heart disease and stroke could be prevented by limiting lifestyle risk factors, including inadequate nutrition. Despite the well-known intrinsic relationship between nutrition and health, different researchers show that not enough attention is provided to nutrition courses in medical schools. Globally, medical curricula do not adequately cover nutrition education, which is critical for future doctors. This underscores the need for collaboration between nutrition professionals and medical practitioners, as well as innovative methods to improve nutrition education for the medical profession. This project bridged that gap by designing and implementing an innovative undergraduate study program in nutrition, integrating the disciplines in a complementary way. The project designed and implemented an undergraduate study program in nutrition, certified using the ECTS. The module was delivered across Medical Faculties in three EU countries: Italy, Poland, and Belgium.