Introducing the Stadium Kitchen, a first-of-its-kind joint venture between Tulane University School of Medicine and Johnson & Wales University (JWU). This new program is an effort to teach doctors and chefs how to join together to tackle obesity and nutrition, one healthy bite at a time. More from Prevention.com: 16 Simple Healing Foods “Chefs can no longer be on the sidelines—obesity is a national epidemic,” says Karl Guggenmos, dean of culinary education at JWU. “And physicians need to be better prepared to address the issue of food and nutrients with patients.” (How did we end up with an obesity crisis? Find out with How America Got So Fat.) As part of the program, medical students take cooking classes structured around learning basic culinary skills, as well as teaching them how to help their future patients apply nutrition and science principles into their daily lives. Ultimately, the goal of the program is to develop a master’s degree in culinary nutrition at JWU and an ongoing rotation in culinary nutrition for Tulane’s medical students. For the director of the Tulane University Medical Group, Timothy Harlan, MD (pictured above with Guggenmos), the partnership is a natural fit: He was a chef for nearly six years before going to medical school. His best healthy culinary advice? “You have to plan to be healthy,” Dr. Harlan says. “Plan your meals on a weekly basis.” (Need help? Find your perfect food Rx with Prevention’s recipe finder.)
