Medical professionals support Kennedy's proposal for integrating nutrition education within the medical field - theoretically speaking
In a recent development, the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) has announced plans to make nutrition education a greater part of premed and medical school curricula, medical licensing exams, residencies, board certification, and continuing education. This move comes amidst efforts by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reshape public health, including a focus on nutrition education.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) maintains that medical students are trained about the impact of diet on health. However, concerns have been raised about the limited time available for doctors to provide nutrition counseling. Some suggest that resources would be better spent incentivizing hospitals to have more dietitians on staff or expanding insurance coverage for dietary counseling.
A 2022 survey in the Journal of Wellness suggests that medical students receive just over an hour of formal nutrition education per year, on average. This is a concern, as chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, are increasingly linked to poor nutrition.
Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious diseases specialist at Stanford Medicine, and Dr. Nate Wood, a primary care physician and the director of culinary medicine at Yale School of Medicine, have expressed doubt about the effectiveness of physicians providing nutrition counseling in fighting chronic disease. They argue that poor nutrition in the U.S. is not just a problem with not knowing that quinoa is healthier than fries, but also a product of systemic barriers, such as being unable to afford a doctor or access healthy foods.
The AAMC creates the MCAT, and medical schools have requirements or recommendations for premed students' coursework. In response to Kennedy's push, all 182 U.S. and Canadian medical schools, as per a recent survey by the AAMC, now cover nutrition as part of their required curricula, up from 89% five years earlier.
Texas and Louisiana have passed laws aligning with Kennedy's medical education policy proposals, requiring doctors to take nutrition courses to renew their licenses and medical schools to offer nutrition education. Germany's medical faculties have also been directed to submit plans for integrating nutrition education into their medical training by September 10.
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist who directs the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, supports Kennedy's push for nutrition education in medical education. He states that the goal is not to turn doctors into dietitians, but to give them enough knowledge to identify issues with a patient's diet and refer that person to a specialist.
Alison Whelan, the chief academic officer of the AAMC, said in a statement that medical schools understand the critical role that nutrition plays in preventing, managing, and treating chronic health conditions, and incorporate significant nutrition education across their required curricula.
Despite these efforts, challenges remain. Around 18.8 million people in the U.S. live in food deserts - low-income neighborhoods far away from a supermarket. This highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing poor nutrition, one that includes not just education, but also policy changes to ensure access to healthy food for all.
