A New Vital Sign for PTs? Diet?

Most physical therapists (PTs) routinely measure the vital signs. Heart rate, blood pressure, pulse oxygen, respiration rate, and often pain. But what about diet? Should diet be another vital sign? In the opinion of many scientists and medical experts diet ought to be a major vital sign that is measured by not only registered dietitians (RDs) and/or medical doctors (MDs), but also healthcare providers like PTs, on a routine basis.

What evidence do we have to say that diet ought to a basic vital sign? How about the fact that diet is the single leading predictor variable of all major health outcomes? The vast majority, roughly 80% according to the literature, of our diseases in the modern world are preventable and are caused by a poor diet. From cardiac disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke, the injuries and diseases that lead to a patient ending up in a physical therapy clinic are likely preventable, if not reversible. 

But how does a PT measure diet as a vital sign? Many PTs who have taken our courses know that there are various tools to measure a person's diet. Most of these dietary assessment tools take considerable time (e.g. 90 minutes) to execute let alone interpret. From measuring each food down to specific measurements to answering long paper-based questionnaires, some dietary assessments seem more like a burden than a vital sign. Applying the findings from some of these assessments can take a long time and often require another lengthy follow-up assessment to look for changes. Another evidenced-based solution has solved for this problem -- it is called Diet ID.

Dr. David Katz invented Diet Quality Photo Navigation in February, 2016. The technology allows patients to answer some simple questions related to pictures about the food they routinely eat. Diet ID uses an application which a provider can guide a patient to answer. The app shows pictures of food and patient confirms what food “types” they routinely eat over a 30 second period. After the questions are answered, the app, using Diet Quality Photo Navigation, confirms a dietary food pattern for the patient. 

Dietary food patterns, such as a predominant Western Diet or Vegan diet for example, help the clinician understand what type of foods a patient is eating and how they might need to change. The app can then provide the patient specific changes to their diet to reach what they call their Diet Ideal. Registered dietitians, a team of nutrition experts, all guided by the literature, helped to create the Diet Ideal. As such, PTs can be sure the guidance is sourced from research and guided by an RD/MD team -- a good resource for PTs in states where providing nutritional counseling may not be legal yet. The app can be white-labeled for your business or practice, another value-added service item, especially for those cash-based PTs like myself!

We hope you check out the website. Know that our team receives no funding from Diet ID or its affiliates. Enjoy and see you in one of our online, board-approved, continuing education (CEU) courses. Be well!