Peer reviewed
Manuscript (original) submitted: 30 November 2025; revision accepted: 14 January 2026
Evaluation of a preclinical culinary medicine elective
Introduction
An unhealthy diet is one of the leading risk factors worldwide for noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancer [1]. In Germany, 14% of all deaths are attributable to unhealthy diets [2]. Furthermore, dietary patterns that increase disease risk are often characterized by higher consumption of foods whose production negatively impacts planetary health [3]. Optimizing the diet of the German population in line with the food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) could reduce the disease burden by up to 4.37 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per year – that is, years of life lost due to illness or premature death. In addition, diet-related greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by about 45% and land use by approximately 50% [4].
Physicians are often the first point of contact for health-related concerns and could therefore initiate preventive and therapeutic nutrition interventions for their patients at an early stage. However, the role of diet in numerous clinical conditions remains inadequately addressed in medical curricula [5].
As a result, nutrition counseling by physicians in Germany remains insufficient [6].
To address this gap in medical education and harness the substantial potential of nutrition in the prevention of numerous diseases, a culinary medicine (CM) elective for the preclinical phase of medical studies was developed and piloted at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG). …
Abstract
A novel culinary medicine elective focused on prevention and planetary health addresses gaps in nutritional counseling competencies among future physicians. A pre-post survey was conducted among 36 preclinical medical students to determine whether the elective, which is based on the food-based dietary guidelines of the German Nutrition Society, fulfills this goal. The study assessed differences in self-reporting counseling competencies, attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration, intentions to pursue continuing education in nutritional medicine, and the contribution of the course’s didactic elements to learning outcomes. The results show a significant increase in counseling competencies and intentions to pursue continuing education. Interprofessional collaboration with nutrition professionals was rated as highly relevant both before and after course participation. Practical didactic elements were perceived as more relevant to learning outcomes than primarily theoretical ones. Widespread integration of the new culinary medicine elective into medical curricula may help improve education in nutritional medicine and achieve long-term prevention and sustainability goals.
