A new editorial in the ACG Case Reports Journal argues that nutrition and lifestyle medicine must move from peripheral topics to core competencies in gastroenterology fellowship training.
Despite counseling patients daily on GERD, IBD, MASLD, and functional bowel disorders, many GI physicians report limited formal training in nutrition. Surveys show fellows often feel underprepared to provide dietary guidance—even as evidence continues to mount that nutrition and lifestyle interventions can induce remission in IBD, improve reflux symptoms, and reduce long-term healthcare costs.
The authors highlight international training models from the UK, Europe, and Australia, where structured nutrition curricula, competency tracking, and formal assessment are already embedded in fellowship programs. They propose a U.S. roadmap that includes:
- Defined nutrition and lifestyle competencies
- Multidisciplinary training with dietitians
- Integration into case conferences and QI projects
- Development of “super fellows” to champion curricular reform
The broader message: if GI is the specialty most intertwined with nutrition, its training model must reflect that reality.