Primary care providers are accustomed to talking with their patients about how diet and nutrition influence health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular health. But their effect on lung health?
“It’s not always at the forefront of our recommendations for lung health,” said Christina M. Eckhardt, MD, MS, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of medicine and environmental health sciences at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City.
However, she suggested that nutrition does play an important protective role and deserves a greater focus. Here’s what primary care providers might keep in mind when they raise the issue with their patients.
Obesity’s Impact on Lung Health
There’s a tendency to focus on environmental factors…