Behavioral Approaches to Nutrition Counseling in the Primary Care Setting

Abstract

Primary care providers encounter significant time and resource constraints in their efforts to provide patients with behavioral nutrition counseling. Here, several evidence-based and low-burden strategies are identified that may be used in the primary care setting to assist patients in making dietary changes toward improved health. These strategies include brief dietary intake screening, core elements of motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy, and recommendation for normalized eating.

Keywords: Cognitive behavioral therapy; Motivational interviewing; Nutrition care process; Nutrition counseling.