Nutrition is a topic of interest for many of us. What we eat and how we eat impacts all our lives in a slow steady way every single day. As a famous saying by Ann Wigmore goes: “The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison”. While most of us know the importance of nutrition, very few of us seek out expert advice or guidance. Many people rely on information available online or read forwards that come to us [which are mostly misleading] or even be influenced by bloggers (which can sometimes be a tricky thing). To promote the transformative powers of healthy food choices, National Nutrition Week is celebrated from 1 to 7 September.
In my view, the most visible positive behavioural change in the nutritional habits of people around the world has been a shift in eating habits especially among urban populations, who generally (pre-Covid) tend to consume more processed fast foods and eat out more as compared to their rural counterparts. The pandemic was a reflection of the fact that almost eight out of ten consumers changed their eating habits due to the pandemic or the lockdown imposed to control its spread. India too has seen several changes in the sphere of nutrition and dietary habits, most of these being positive. The pandemic and the corresponding lockdown seems to have had a stronger than anticipated impact on the eating habits and food choices such as home-cooked food to healthier meals and of course seeking consultations online.
In the pre-Covid world, a doctor would refer someone to a dietician/ nutritionist if they had any abnormal test results or a specific health condition and they would meet them mostly in a clinic or hospital and get the information needed and subsequent diet charts. However, with the pandemic, a lot has changed. While many people continue to visit dieticians in hospitals/ clinics, a large chunk of the consultations moved online to help people and healthcare workers stay safe. With this, we saw a boom in the availability of experts online for video consultations, group sessions and even subject-specific webinars. This helped a lot of people get scientific authentic information from the comfort of their homes, while they stayed safe. Many people booked video consultations for weight control, diabetes control, immunity-boosting diets, kid’s nutrition, work from home nutrition and varied areas of specific interest.
NUTRITION AMID PANDEMIC
There is a sense of comfort and ease that comes with teleconsultations. For example, they can avoid taking off from the office, avoid traffic woes, avoid long waiting queues at the hospital etc. Technology has made the patient-expert connect more easily at the same time more time-saving too. For nutritionists and dieticians across, teleconsultations have helped increase the number of cases they see, as well as the time and focus offered. The rapport built over these consultations has a sense of comfort as patients are more open and frank about the challenges they face. The safety on the other side of the screen makes them more open and free in expressing themselves from a comfortable familiar space. Many times family members sit alongside patients which offer a sense of support and motivation to achieve their goals. In weight loss cases, follow-ups improve drastically as the percentage of people eating home-cooked food had increased and results are better achievable as considerable time is saved in commute which can be used for exercise now. Pregnant moms also do not now have the trouble of travelling for multiple appointments, except the main ones which are compulsory to visit the hospital for. Some consultations, like nutrition as teleconsults can be done from home. Husbands and moms who take care of them are now a part of this consultation and enables them to freely discuss family eating habits-thereby giving a feeling of confidence and support in the new mother’s journey.
Another interesting area where teleconsultation brings the family together and makes it more meaningful is paediatric cases, wherein journeys of starting solids, to counselling parents of fussy eaters, toddlers, etc. become easier to counsel, while the parents have joint interaction to clear all queries. The parents are able to show us the bowls, plates, foods they use via video consultations and get our approval for safe product usage instantly. Also, older kids and teenagers who put on weight after staying at home could be counselled better through a screen as they are used to online classes and the interface made it easier for them to shed any inhibitions.
Even in many geriatric cases, video consultation is a boon as families are spending more time with their old parents and can book a slot and get them on the teleconsult interface easily. The reluctance to go all the way to a hospital or clinic is now lesser by older adults and support from their families makes it easier for them to consult online for their needs.
People wanting to build their family’s immunity, now reach out freely via these easy to do online consultations and seek nutritional remedies for the woes the pandemic brought-both preventive and curative.
The face of nutrition has greatly evolved in current times. Teleconsultation has made the concept of personalised nutrition more meaningful with positive results. Being able to connect with your health expert via a click is a future we all dreamed of and that is right here—accessible to anyone who wishes to. Nutrition webinars, online group workshops, live sessions, healthy cooking demos, online classes for healthy eating have all evolved in the virtual world in a very positive way and has made boundaries of distance almost non-existent. People can now connect with an expert of their choice from any part of the country via teleconsultations. Video calls, calorie-tracker apps, chat messages, emails to follow up have all brought expert advice into our lives and homes in a very reassuring way. If there is a time for nutrition to work and win—that time is now!
In my view, the pandemic has induced a much-awaited behavioural change amongst the consumers. A balanced diet and nutrition can act as an effective prophylactic measure against the Covid-19 infection. A positive behavioural change in our eating habits during lockdown must be sustained beyond the pandemic to ensure its long term positive impacts.
The writer is HOD & Chief Clinical Nutritionist, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Bengaluru.