Doctors Say Rfk Jr.'s Push For Nutrition Education In Medicine Is A Good Idea — In Theory

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing for doctors to person much acquisition astir nutrition.

He announced Wednesday that a squad wrong nan Health and Human Services Department would target “the woeful deficiency of nutrition acquisition successful medicine” by making it a greater portion of premed and aesculapian schoolhouse curricula, aesculapian licensing exams, residencies, committee certification and doctors’ continuing education.

“We tin reverse nan chronic illness pandemic simply by changing our diets and lifestyles, but to do that, we request nutrition to beryllium a basal portion of each doctor’s training,” Kennedy said successful a video connected X. “We’ll commencement by embedding nutrition straight into assemblage premed programs and trial it connected nan MCAT.”

The move comes arsenic Kennedy has taken acold much arguable steps to reshape nationalist wellness successful America, including slashing vaccine research and downsizing national wellness agencies.

HHS did not respond to individual questions, but pointed NBC News to a property release.

The section has directed aesculapian acquisition organizations to taxable written plans for incorporating nutrition acquisition by Sept. 10. The Association of American Medical Colleges creates nan Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and aesculapian schools person requirements aliases recommendations for nan coursework that premed students should take.

Many doctors lauded nan announcement for recognizing nan domiciled of nutrition successful managing and preventing chronic disease, a individual liking of Kennedy’s that he has made a argumentation privilege successful office. However, immoderate expressed interest astir not having capable clip successful nan exam room to supply nutrition counseling, and said HHS’ resources would beryllium amended spent incentivizing hospitals to person much dietitians connected unit aliases expanding security sum for dietary counseling. Still others said Kennedy’s announcement undermines spot successful doctors and sows uncertainty successful their expertise to attraction for patients.

Texas and Louisiana some passed laws successful June that align pinch Kennedy’s aesculapian acquisition argumentation proposals. Texas’ rule requires doctors to return nutrition courses to renew their licenses and aesculapian schools to connection nutrition acquisition to person definite nationalist funds. Louisiana’s rule requires immoderate doctors to complete a minimum of 1 hr of continuing acquisition successful nutrition each 4 years.

Dr. Nate Wood, a superior attraction expert and nan head of culinary medicine astatine Yale School of Medicine, said nan thought that doctors should beryllium well-trained successful nutrition is simply a bully one. However, he doubted whether it was nan astir effective attack to fighting chronic disease.

“I deliberation it’s a small short-sighted to deliberation that physicians are going to beryllium nan reply to this chronic illness pandemic by providing nutrition counseling,” he said.

Wood added that “a batch of visits are sick visits, wherever patients travel successful for a very speedy sojourn and they want to reside 4 aliases much analyzable problems, and it’s already very difficult to reside moreover 1 aliases 2 of those.”

In an editorial successful The Wall Street Journal connected Wednesday, Kennedy said aesculapian organizations “look nan different way” erstwhile it comes to nutrition acquisition requirements. He pointed to a 2022 study successful nan Journal of Wellness, which suggests that aesculapian students person conscionable complete an hr of general nutrition acquisition per year, connected average. He besides cited a 2024 study successful nan diary Advances successful Nutrition, which recovered that 75% of U.S. aesculapian schools person nary required objective nutrition classes.

Previously, Kennedy said he would withhold funding for aesculapian schools that didn’t person nutrition courses.

“That’s what really inspired maine to get into this field, seeing that nutrition was nan apical origin of mediocre wellness successful astir of my patients, yet it was beautiful overmuch missing from my education,” Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist who directs nan Food is Medicine Institute astatine Tufts University.

He said he supports Kennedy’s argumentation proposals for nutrition acquisition successful medicine.

“The national authorities should say, ‘Look, if you’re not going to do your occupation and train doctors really they should beryllium trained, we’re going to extremity backing you.’ And past they’ll listen,” Mozaffarian said.

But nan Association of American Medical Colleges maintains that aesculapian students are trained astir nan effect of fare connected health. According to nan group’s recent study of U.S. and Canadian aesculapian schools, each 182 schools said they screen nutrition arsenic portion of their required curricula, up from 89% 5 years earlier.

“Medical schools understand nan captious domiciled that nutrition plays successful preventing, managing, and treating chronic wellness conditions, and incorporated important nutrition acquisition crossed their required curricula,” Alison Whelan, nan main world serviceman of nan AAMC, said successful a statement.

Kennedy’s telephone for much nutrition acquisition has sparked statement astir what group tin reasonably expect of superior attraction doctors.

Mozaffarian said nan extremity is not to move doctors into dietitians, but to springiness them capable knowledge to place issues pinch a patient’s fare and mention that personification to a specialist.

However, Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious diseases master astatine Stanford Medicine, said doctors person that basal knowledge already.

“We’re not ignorant erstwhile it comes to nutrition, and that’s nan implication” of Kennedy’s announcement, he said.

Scott added that mediocre nutrition successful nan U.S. is not conscionable a problem pinch not knowing that quinoa is healthier than fries. It’s besides a merchandise of systemic barriers, specified arsenic being incapable to spend a expert aliases entree patient foods, he said. Around 18.8 cardinal group successful nan U.S. unrecorded successful nutrient deserts — low-income neighborhoods acold distant from a supermarket.

“There’s truthful galore different creative, imaginable solutions, but tacking connected this aesculapian acquisition requirement, it’s nan past point I would do if I were nan caput of HHS,” he said.

Wood said an replacement solution would beryllium a greater push to get dietitian appointments covered by insurance. For example, while these visits tin beryllium covered nether Medicare, they typically require a diligent to either beryllium diabetic aliases person kidney disease. Coverage for patients pinch backstage security and Medicaid tin vary, he said.