The Knowledge and Attitudes of Pediatricians Toward Plant-Based Diets

Abstract

ObjectivesThere has been abundant evidence showing the health benefits of a plant-based diet, yet many physicians do not stress the importance these diets as an aspect of chronic disease prevention and treatment. Pediatricians have an important role in dietary education of children, and there is scarce data focused specifically on pediatricians’ knowledge regarding plant-based nutrition. Our study addresses this gap by assessing pediatrician’s general nutritional knowledge and attitudes regarding plant-based diets. MethodsA cross-sectional study was done using a previously implemented questionnaire that was distributed among a sample of pediatricians in the United States. Survey items were scored as a percentage of correct answers based on nutrition knowledge and attitudes toward plant-based diets, and then analyzed and compared among participants. ResultsOf 112 respondents surveyed, 86 (76.8%) were general pediatricians and 71 (63.4%) were following a vegetarian or plant-based diet. 57 (50.9%) of the participants had been in medical practice for more than 10 years. 92 (82.1%) of participants received ≤ 10 hours nutrition education in medical school, and 76 (67.9%) of participants had ≤ 10 hours of nutrition-specific continuing medical education since residency training. The mean medical knowledge score was found to be 57.1% ± 20.1%, and participants who followed a whole-foods plant-based diet had significantly higher scores than those who did not follow any specific diet (70.5% ± 13.5 vs. 46.5% ± 20.0) (p < 0.001). The mean attitude score was 49.2% ± 27.6, with participants who had at least one child having significantly higher attitude scores than those without children (53.7% ± 28.1 vs. 41.2% ± 24.9) (p = 0.028). There was a strong positive correlation between participants’ medical knowledge and their attitude score (p < 0.001). ConclusionsPediatricians are exposed to very little nutrition education hours during medical school and in their continued education training. A significant portion of pediatricians in our survey had low average medical knowledge base in vegetarian nutrition and did not hold positive attitudes concerning plant-based diets. Increasing education hours for pediatricians regarding plant-based diets may help them better counsel their patients on their dietary decisions. Funding SourcesPhysicians Association for Nutrition.