PD136 - IMPROVING NUTRITION TRAINING IN MEDICAL EDUCATION: MACRONUTRIENT-RELATED NUTRITIONAL COUNSELLING COMPETENCE THROUGH A PRACTICE-ORIENTED CULINARY MEDICINE ELECTIVE

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PD136

IMPROVING NUTRITION TRAINING IN MEDICAL EDUCATION: MACRONUTRIENT-RELATED NUTRITIONAL COUNSELLING COMPETENCE THROUGH A PRACTICE-ORIENTED CULINARY MEDICINE ELECTIVE

H. Schwarzer1,*, T. Ellrott1, U. Neumann2

1Institute for Nutrition and Psychology at Georg August University Göttingen / University Medical Centre, Göttingen, 2Culinary Medicine Deutschland e.V., Altenberge, Germany

 

Rationale: Macronutrient topics are central to medical education and clinical nutrition counselling. This study examined changes in students’ self-perceived counselling competencies after a practice-oriented Culinary Medicine elective with hands-on cooking in a teaching kitchen.

Methods: In a prospective pre- (t1) and post- (t2) evaluation, self-perceived counselling competencies in advising patients on nutritional topics were measured across 18 topics using a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree) and analysed with paired t-tests in 76 pre-clinical medical students completing a Culinary Medicine elective. A subgroup analysis was conducted for macronutrient-related topics (dietary fats; carbohydrates & sugar substitutes; protein sources; macronutrients & metabolism; whole grains & refined products; and PUFA & cardiovascular health). Mean baseline values (M t1), relative mean differences (RMD), and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated.

Results: Self-perceived competencies in nutritional counselling improved significantly across all topics (p < 0.05). For macronutrient-related topics, relative mean differences ranged from 32.3% to 41.7% with large effect sizes (d = 1.03–1.15). PUFA & cardiovascular health, dietary fats, macronutrients & metabolism, carbohydrates & sugar substitutes, and whole grains & refined products showed consistently high gains from moderate baseline levels (M t1 = 2.68–3.12), below the overall baseline (M t1 = 3.12), whereas protein sources showed smaller relative improvements (RMD = 32.3%) from a higher baseline (M t1 = 3.34).

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Conclusion: A practice-oriented Culinary Medicine approach significantly improves nutritional counselling competencies in macronutrient-related topics, highlighting its effectiveness in building clinically relevant nutrition skills in medical education.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared