Building a nutrition course for older adults

After watching his parents and grandparents battle chronic disease, second-year medical student Shriram Kavaturu wanted to understand how to prevent and slow the progression of diabetes, which runs in his family. As an undergraduate, he studied nutritional biochemistry and metabolism and developed an interest in exercise science.

“Watching family members develop and struggle to control their diabetes made me want to understand how chronic disease starts and what we can do to prevent it,” he said. “Studying nutrition also sparked my passion for exercise science, which I believe goes hand in hand with healthful eating to support a well-rounded, higher-quality life.”

When he started his medical education at NEOMED, he sought guidance about sharing what he learned with the community from Amy Lee, M.D. (’88), M.P.H., professor of family and community medicine, and program director of the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health.

“She suggested I design an easy-to-understand nutrition curriculum and connected me with the Crestwood Community Center,” Kavaturu said.

Dr. Lee connected Kavaturu with Rosemary Krupar at the Crestwood Community Center through the Portage County Senior Services network.

“From there, I worked with Mrs. Rock, a community member [and retired nurse], to design and test the interactive curriculum, and I started presenting it this [fall] semester,” he said.

The four-part course spans one month.

“I meet with the community center once a week on Wednesdays to teach a short, interactive 30-minute class focused on building a framework for nutritional eating in the context of aging,” Kavaturu said. “Each class builds on the last as we cover how to interpret food labels, starting with calories, then macronutrients, then micronutrients, and finally how to use it all to make good nutrition choices.”

The course also addresses some common issues older adults face with nutrition, including access to food, financial constraints and long-standing habits.

Kavaturu sees this experience as a valuable supplement to his medical education.

“Although I'm still early in my medical journey, I'm interested in a career that lets me combat the rising rates of chronic disease in the U.S., both at the patient level and the community level. I want to use projects like this one to understand how to help patients increase their health span, not just their lifespan. I hope to keep applying what I've learned and eventually pursue a role that combines patient care, research, and public health policy,” he said.

WATCH: Shriram Kavaturu and a local nurse explore Healthy Choices at Dollar General