Chairs

Current SIG Chair:

Kathleen Head, MD, MS, MPH, DipABLM

Alicia Tucker, MD, DiplABOM

 

Food is Medicine highlights the role that nutrition plays across the healthcare spectrum including prevention, management, and treatment of specific conditions. The Nutrition and Food is Medicine SIG brings together pediatricians and healthcare professionals to share evidence-based research, education, and clinical practice experience that supports integration of nutrition interventions into healthcare.

Food is Medicine emphasizes nutrition security and health equity, where nutritious food access is considered a fundamental health care resource. Despite an exponential increase and enthusiasm for development of Food is Medicine initiatives there remains gaps in our understanding of how best to implement strategies across the healthcare system, how to design interventions that have measurable health outcomes, and how to ensure that families with unmet needs are connected to appropriate federal and/or community-based resources.

Current SIG Goals

  • Develop interprofessional relationships to advance the study and practice of Food is Medicine
  • Highlight evidence-based medical nutrition therapy for prevention and treatment of disease
  • Identify opportunities to enhance nutrition training across medical education programs
  • Share best practices and practical tips on how Food is Medicine is being implemented in academic and community based settings
  • Collaborate to develop quality metrics and reimbursement pathways

Annual Summary

We had a good turnout for the Nutrition SIG meeting at PAS in Toronto. We began with a research presentation from the Nutrition Young Investigators awardees. Dr. Megan Pesch presented her research on the role of portion size in maternal restrictive feeding behaviors among mothers of obese and non-obese children. Dr. Laura Kair presented her research on the effects of providing breast pumps upon hospital discharge on improving exclusive breastfeeding among low income, first-time mothers. Dr. Robert Karp presented a special session about the development of online content modules for active learning in nutrition for the American Board of Pediatrics exam. This project is ongoing and we welcome all members sharing Dr. Karp’s interest to attend and discuss their ideas. Our meeting in 2019 will focus on the role of the nutrition subspecialty clinic in providing comprehensive nutritional assessment and dietary counseling to pediatric patients. Our 2019 SIG keynote address Dr. Deborah Frank MD, Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center will share her journey in establishing the Grow clinic. We will discuss the nutrition subspecialty in both the academic and community setting, especially as it relates to providing care for high risk and low-income patients. We look forward to the new directions of the nutrition SIG.

Other groups (other SIGs and other groups not in the APA) that work in your area of interest:

  • Education SIG
  • Obesity SIG
  • Environmental Health
  • Global Health
  • Integrative Pediatrics