Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is provided to medical professionals on the effect of (a) diet and (b) lifestyle on (i) diabetes, (ii) obesity, (iii) heart disease, and (iv) mental ill health.

Curricula for undergraduate level medical training is set by individual medical schools and are designed to develop the skills and attributes required of doctors to deal effectively with whatever is presented to them.

The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant medical Royal College. Whilst curricula do not necessarily highlight specific conditions for doctors to be aware of, they instead emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.

The General Medical Council has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.

The majority of health problems are encountered by doctors through routine access to primary care by general practitioners (GPs), whose training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). The curriculum set by the RCGP educates GP trainees in identifying and managing those conditions most common to primary care, and includes clinical modules on promoting health and preventing disease, cardiovascular health and care of people with mental health problems.