Academy Releases Food as Medicine Strategic Roadmap

Food as Medicine (FAM) interventions are emerging as an effective approach to addressing nutrition security and chronic disease among patients with nutrition-related disease or risk-factors. FAM is defined by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as "a philosophy where food and nutrition aids individuals through interventions that support health and wellness." FAM is a reaffirmation that food and nutrition play a role in sustaining health, disease prevention and as a therapy for those with conditions or in situations responsive to changes in their diet.

The Academy has identified four focus areas where FAM programs promote health and prevent disease:

1. Food as preventative medicine to encourage health and well-being
2. Food as medicine to improve nutrition security
3. Food as medicine in disease management and treatment
4. Food as medicine to promote food safety

In an article recently published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Academy released a new strategic roadmap for FAM programming to achieve this goal. The four pillars of this roadmap are:

1. Improve access to RDN services and medical nutrition therapy. MNT and services provided by RDNs are an essential part of successful FAM programs.
2. Develop sustainable payment models. Sustainable funding for FAM programs should ensure ongoing access for participants, including reimbursement for RDN services.
3. Demonstrate effectiveness. Demonstrating the effectiveness of FAM, including the services of RDNs, improves outcomes and lowers health care costs.
4. Increase interprofessional awareness and education. The RDN is the integral part of the interprofessional team providing services via FAM programs.

The Academy is taking bold steps to promote registered dietitian nutritionists as a requisite of rigorous FAM programming capable of transforming health and improving well-being.