Diet and nutritional status impact on health outcomes. The global rise of diet-
related non-communicable diseases plus the double burden of obesity and

malnutrition means that it is imperative more than ever that all healthcare
professionals are able to provide at least basic evidence-based nutrition advice.
Improving an individual’s diet requires more than just information provision, it
requires consistent and long-term support to change and maintain new
behaviours. Doctors acknowledge that nutrition plays a crucial role in health and
agree that providing nutrition advice is part of their role. However, providing
sufficiently detailed nutrition advice that is relevant to a patient’s health goals,
useful for the patient, and that results in measurable changes, is not common in
practice settings. Numerous challenges and barriers have been identified for why
doctors do not provide nutrition recommendations to their patients. A lack of
nutrition education and training, time constraints during appointments, and
patients who have access to an ever-growing body of nutrition and health
information via the Internet and social media, together may explain why doctors
tend not to include nutrition advice in their care plans. This paper outlines both
short- and long-term strategies for improving doctors’ engagement with nutrition
interventions and collaborative working with dietitians in the context of
collaborative care. Having doctors support and advocate for evidenced-based
nutrition practice is a crucial element of the World Health Organization’s
Decade of Action on Nutrition achieving measurable success.