PARE0001 DIET, NUTRITION AND ARTHRITIS – A WORKSHOP FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH RHEUMATIC AND MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES (RMDS).
Authors: M. Voeten, W. Olsder
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: The impact of diet and nutrition on RMDs is a growing topic with lots of ongoing research and remaining questions. Youth-R-Well.com, the organization for young people (18-30 years) with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) in the Netherlands, recognized that young people want to know more about this theme. Therefore, Youth-R-Well.com organized the workshop “Diet, Nutrition and Arthritis” to inform young people with RMDs about the facts and myths of the impact of diet and nutrition on RMDs. Objectives: The main objective of this project was to inform young people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases about the impact of diet and nutrition on RMDs. Youth-R-Well.com wanted to offer the knowledge of proven research and studies, and provide all the recent facts and fables about this topic. By becoming well-informed about the impact of healthy cooking, young people are able to improve the self-management of their disease. Besides providing information about the impact of diet and nutrition, the objective was to offer tips and tricks about ergonomic cooking. With the right tools for cooking, the participants might be inspired by a less painful and more suitable way of cooking, which also increases the self-management of their disease. Methods: To make sure the event was consistent with the needs of young people, Youth-R-Well.com organized a cooking workshop, that consisted of two parts: informative presentations and a fun healthy cooking workshop. For the first part, we invited a professor and a dietitian specialized at this specific topic to provide the correct and up-to-date information. For the second part, we invited an occupational therapist to provide information about ergonomic cooking. The kick-off of the day was by two informative presentations: the professor, who focused on recent studies, and the dietitian, who focused on the practical side. Both the presentations ended up in a question and answer component, where the participants showed lots of interaction. After the first session, the practical side of the workshop could be started. Several nutrient full and healthy recipes were made in teams to interact with other participants. An occupational therapist facilitated the participants by presenting the less painful and correct technique for preparing food. The workshop is filmed and shared through YouTube, to make sure the information reaches more young people with RMDs. Results: It was a successful workshop where over 40 participants were present. The educational and helpful presentations were well received and created more realization of the impact of an appropriate and altered diet. The survey, which was filled up by the participants, has shown that over 91% rated the event by the highest-ranking “good”. Also, in the second part of the workshop, the practical cooking was very good and useful; it was rated as the most favorite part. The workshop was filmed and shared online, we reached over 1300 people with enthusiastic and lovely comments. Conclusion: Based on the questions of young people around the impact of diet and nutrition on RMDs, Youth-R-Well.com organized the workshop: “Diet, Nutrition and Arthritis”. Through the combination of informative presentations and a fun cooking workshop, Youth-R-Well.com managed to inform young people about this growing topic. We will continue to spread the information through our online video on our online channels to reach more young people with RMDs. Disclosure of Interests: None declared