Our goal here is to expand the medical model, said guest speaker Patricia Gregory, Shands Cancer Center dietitian. Nutrition is also a key method of healing, she said. Optimal health begins with eating well, Gregory said. The biggest nutritional problem we have in the United States is excess calories. Society has fallen victim to malnutrition and is extremely unhealthy, she said.
Obesity is the primary health problem.
Health care professionals need to begin looking at their patients' total health rather than restricting treatment to the illness alone, she said. Dr. John Graham-Pole, UF pediatrics professor, said society is suffering from malnutrition. How healthy a society is depends on how healthy the individuals in it are, Graham-Pole said. Our society is unhealthy. The luncheon began a series of presentations that are scheduled throughout the Spring semester.