The Obesity Society joined the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and 13 other national health organizations in supporting United States medical schools to increase the number of hours devoted to nutrition education in medical training.
Chronic lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and malnutrition continue to strain families and health care systems. Yet most physicians receive fewer than 20 hours of nutrition instruction across four years of medical school. This is far short of what is needed to prepare them to meet today’s public health challenges.
Expanding nutrition education will ensure that physicians:
- Understand the role of diet in chronic disease. Nutrition knowledge is essential to prevention and treatment of the leading causes of death and disability.
- Integrate nutrition into patient care. Understanding and referral to evidence-based approaches such as medical nutrition therapy (MNT), offered by registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs), strengthen chronic and acute disease management and recovery.
- Recognize when to involve nutrition professionals. Referring to RDNs, nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered (NDTRs) and other qualified professionals improves coordination of care and patient outcomes.
- Value professional expertise in curriculum design. Embedding nutrition experts in medical education ensures students gain practical, clinically relevant training.
- Promote interprofessional collaboration. Team-based education where physicians, RDNs, NDTRs, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals learn and work together builds trust and integrated care delivery.
When nutrition professionals are part of care teams, they save lives and deliver measurable value for patients, providers and payers, while health systems see better outcomes, fewer complications and lower hospital readmissions.
The health organizations listed below call on medical schools, accrediting bodies and policymakers to make nutrition science a cornerstone of medical education. By expanding training and fostering collaboration across health disciplines, we can build a health care system that prioritizes prevention, manages disease more effectively and delivers stronger outcomes at lower cost.
Organizations joining this effort:
- Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders
- American Association on Health and Disability
- American College of Lifestyle Medicine
- American Muslim Health Professionals
- American Society for Nutrition
- GW Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security
- Interfaith Public Health Network
- Lakeshore Foundation
- National Hispanic Health Foundation
- National Kidney Foundation
- Obesity Action Coalition
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
- Teaching Kitchen Collaborative
- The Obesity Society