In a joint call to action, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced a sweeping initiative to reform nutrition education across the nation’s medical schools. Backed by the Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, the push aims to tackle America’s chronic disease crisis at its root: poor diet and lack of prevention-focused care.
Every year, more than 1 million Americans die from diet-related illnesses, while the country spends over $4.4 trillion treating chronic disease and mental health. Yet most doctors receive little to no formal nutrition training. “Medical schools talk about nutrition but fail to teach it,” said Kennedy. “Future physicians must be equipped to prevent disease, not just treat it.”
The data paint a stark picture: though nearly all U.S. medical schools claim to “cover” nutrition, most students report fewer than two hours of instruction. Three-quarters of schools require no clinical nutrition coursework at all, and only 14% of residency programs mandate nutrition education.
To close the gap, HHS and the Department of Education are demanding that nutrition training be embedded across six key areas: pre-medical standards, medical school curricula, licensing exams, residency requirements, board certification, and continuing education. Institutions must submit detailed reform plans, including timelines and accountability measures, by September 10.
“U.S. medical education has not kept pace with the science,” said McMahon. “Schools must align with the overwhelming evidence that nutrition prevents and treats chronic disease, especially in children.”
This initiative comes ahead of the release of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which the administration views as a cornerstone in reversing the nation’s chronic disease epidemic.