Federal Officials Push Medical Schools to Strengthen Nutrition Education
Key Highlights :
Federal officials are urging medical schools to expand nutrition education at every level of training.
The schools must submit their nutrition plan for curriculum by September 8.
On average, medical students receive just 19 hours of nutrition education in medical school.
Key Background :
Chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity continue to be the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Twenty years of investigation have supported that lifestyle and diet are major determinants in the prevention and, indeed, the reversal of these conditions. Medical education has long assigned very little value to nutritional education.
Medical school students are receiving just an average of 19 hours of nutrition education throughout their entire four years of study, according to a 2015 study. This lack of focus means most new physicians are ill-equipped to provide helpful dietary recommendations to patients, even as the accumulating evidence suggests diets are key to long-term health.
Recognizing these shortfalls, a panel of experts from more than 30 universities assembled a recommended national curriculum many years ago. Their standards established 36 core nutrition competencies that graduating medical students should achieve. These competencies ranged from being familiar with the role of diet in chronic disease to having practical patient counseling skills.
Based on this, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched the "Make America Healthy Again" initiative with a focus on prevention as the cornerstone of healthcare reform. On August 27, 2025, Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon officially called on medical schools to strengthen their nutrition education at all levels throughout undergraduate pre-medical courses, through residency and ongoing education. Kennedy thought that educating doctors with preventive knowledge would lighten the burden of chronic disease and reorient the health system towards wellness rather than disease management.
Although Kennedy has said that schools risk losing federal money if they fail to get into compliance, whether the administration has the statutory authority to enforce such penalties is questionable. Meanwhile, medical schools were asked to submit their plans for teaching nutrition by September 8, barely giving them time to respond.
Others argue they are already doing so, with universities such as UNC and Cornell referencing their current programs. Still, without national standards, nutrition training remains haphazard across the nation. Federal officials think that having measurable standards will ensure every future doctor can incorporate counseling about diet into patient care, aligning med school education with contemporary public health demands.
About the Author
Mia Jones
Mia Jones is a Managing Editor at Education Excellence Magazine.