GIMS–PAN India CME: Doctors pitch for nutrition counselling to reduce lifestyle disease burden

Hyderabad: India’s growing burden of lifestyle diseases has forced an uncomfortable question within the medical community: Is treatment beginning too late? As cases of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and metabolic disorders rise steadily, doctors and educators are increasingly acknowledging that prescriptions alone cannot fix what years of poor nutrition have caused.

Across medical colleges and hospitals, a quiet shift is underway, one that places evidence-based nutrition at the centre of patient care rather than at its margins.

That shift was reflected recently at a Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme hosted by the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Greater Noida, in collaboration with PAN India (Physicians Association for Nutrition). The programme focused on training medical students and clinicians to integrate scientifically validated nutrition into everyday clinical practice.

Rethinking what doctors are trained to prioritise

For decades, nutrition has remained a peripheral subject in medical education, often overshadowed by pharmacology and procedures. At the GIMS–PAN India CME, senior clinicians and young doctors gathered to examine why that approach needs urgent correction.

Welcoming participants, Dr. Rambha Pathak, Professor and Head of Community Medicine and Dean at GIMS, made the case for repositioning nutrition as a clinical foundation rather than an afterthought.

“The majority of present-day diseases we see today can be prevented or managed better if nutrition becomes a routine part of patient counselling. Events like this help doctors make informed, scientific decisions that truly benefit patients,” she said.

The sessions combined academic presentations with practical training, focusing on how nutrition advice can be woven into routine consultations without overwhelming either doctors or patients.

Closing the gap between textbooks and treatment rooms

One recurring theme during the programme was the disconnect between what doctors learn in classrooms and what patients actually need in clinics.

Dr. Suneela Garg, Director Professor (HAG) of Community Medicine and former Head of FMS, MAMC, pointed to this gap as a systemic issue.

“Such events are very important for bridging the gap between medical education and patient care. Evidence-based nutrition needs to become a fundamental element of standard clinical practice to improve long-term health outcomes,” Dr. Garg said.

According to participants, nutrition counselling is often delegated or ignored entirely due to time constraints, despite its long-term impact on disease prevention and management.

The first 1,000 days that shape a lifetime

The conversation also turned to early-life nutrition and its irreversible consequences.

Dr. (Brig) Rakesh Kumar Gupta from GIMS emphasised that health trajectories are shaped far earlier than most clinical interventions begin.

“Nutrition during the first 1,000 days after birth creates the foundation that determines future health status. Parents and caregivers must receive practical dietary advice that is rooted in scientific evidence,” he said.

Public health experts at the event noted that poor early nutrition often manifests decades later as chronic disease, placing avoidable strain on healthcare systems.

Making nutrition usable for doctors

Moving from theory to application, Dr. Hemalatha, Head of Medical and Clinical Research at Yashoda Hospitals and Advisor to PAN India, presented clinical protocols designed to make nutrition workable within busy hospital settings.

Her keynote focused on plant-forward, evidence-backed dietary strategies that can complement medical treatment rather than compete with it.

Small changes, measurable impact

Dr. Anjali Nakra, founder of Path to Health Clinic, framed nutrition as a therapeutic tool that remains underused.

“Regular small modifications to our diet can produce major benefits for long-term wellness. Nutrition is a strong therapeutic resource, but it remains underutilised in daily medical practice,” she said.

She added that when doctors offer realistic, culturally relevant dietary guidance, patients are more likely to follow through.

The strong turnout from clinicians across Delhi-NCR suggested a growing willingness among doctors to rethink how they engage with patients beyond prescriptions.

Hyderabad voices echo the same concern

Nutrition experts in Hyderabad say the discussions at GIMS mirror what they see daily in clinics.

Dr. Shilpa Reddy, a Hyderabad-based clinical nutritionist, speaking to NewsMeter, said patients often reach doctors only after lifestyle diseases are well established.

“By the time patients come in, the damage is already significant. If nutrition counselling becomes a routine part of medical care, we can reduce medication dependence and improve long-term quality of life,” she said.

Public health nutrition expert Dr. Kiranmayi Rao stressed that the credibility of nutrition advice depends on scientific grounding.

“There is no shortage of diet advice today, but much of it is unscientific. Training doctors in evidence-based nutrition ensures patients receive guidance that is safe, practical, and aligned with medical treatment,” she said.

Towards prevention, not just cure

As lifestyle diseases continue to rise, many in the medical fraternity believe nutrition-led care could be one of India’s most effective preventive tools, if doctors are trained to use it.

Programmes like the GIMS–PAN India CME point to a broader rethinking of healthcare, one where food is no longer viewed as secondary to medicine, but as medicine itself.