Food is Medicine Programs

There is a strong ‘Food is Medicine’ movement evolving, calling for healthy foods and meals to be used to prevent and manage chronic diseases in the same way as prescription drugs.

Outcomes from early studies, in which doctors prescribe healthy foods, have suggested comparable health benefits to prescription drugs. In addition to improving health outcomes, these programs also reduce health inequity by focusing on communities experiencing food insecurity, and could also reduce overall healthcare expenditure. Professor Wu will provide a brief overview of Food is Medicine programs and efforts to integrate these innovative interventions into healthcare systems in Australia and abroad.

Professor Jason Wu is a Professor in the UNSW Faculty of Medicine & Health and the Head of the Nutrition Science Program at the George Institute for Global Health. His research focuses on improving health and wellbeing through developing innovative nutrition programs, evaluation of population food policies, and figuring out how dietary factors drive or prevent diseases. Jason's research has shaped nutrition guidelines and policies in Australia and globally, featuring in the likes of British Medical Journal, Lancet Diabetes and endocrinology, and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. He lives in Redfern, Sydney on Gadigal Land.