Basic knowledge about healthy eating in medical graduates

INTRODUCTION the promotion of a healthy lifestyle is an imperative need to both reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases associated with lifestyle, and prevent their progression. OBJECTIVE to evaluate the basic knowledge about healthy eating of a cohort of graduates from medical school. METHOD a descriptive research was conducted through a review of the inclusion of a nutrition subject matter in the curriculum of medical schools. A food knowledge questionnaire was administered to 80 physicians at the first level of care who had graduated five years before the research. RESULTS the correct answers to the questionnaire obtained on average 64.96 points out of a possible score of 113. There was a weak association between scores for "diet-disease relationship" and "source of nutrition" (p = 0.016). In the curriculum of the reviewed medical schools, biochemistry courses are privileged over nutrition courses. The nutrition courses imparted in medical schools do not have a minimum of hours, and are not structured to train health promotion capabilities. The participants had low scores in all areas. CONCLUSIONS it is necessary that nutrition courses be reconfigured to face the pandemic of non-communicable diseases and their consequences both in patients and in health systems.