WASHINGTON (TNND) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new efforts to advance nutrition education on Monday, which he is describing as “one of the most important course corrections in modern American medicine.”
Kennedy announced several new reforms, including nine of America’s leading medical accreditors, certifying boards, testing organizations and educational institutions taking steps to put nutrition back at the center of medical education.
“For the first time, nutrition science will have a meaningful presence across all three steps of the United States Medical Licensing Examination,” Kennedy explained.
Approximately 15% of content across the examination sequence will assess nutrition science and its clinical application using evidence-based standards.”
The HHS secretary also announced 19 additional medical schools have signed the Trump administration’s nutrition education pledge.
“With these commitments, 73 medical schools across the country have now joined the pledge,” Kennedy said.
HHS has also launched a new $2.1 million National Institutes of Health challenge to “identify, reward, and scale the most effective approaches for integrating nutrition into medical and nursing education.”
Kennedy described it as the first phase of a $5 million initiative led by NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Director of Office of Nutrition Research Dr. Drew Bremer.
Kennedy was joined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Dr. Jessica Snowden.
A section on the Health Human Services Department’s website highlights efforts by the Trump Administration to advance nutrition education.
According to HHS, diet-related chronic diseases are now responsible for nearly 60% of U.S. deaths and an estimated one million Americans die from diet-related chronic diseases each year.
Despite overwhelming evidence that nutrition is one of the most powerful tools for disease prevention, the vast majority of physicians say they feel unprepared to discuss nutrition with their patients.”
“The Advancing Nutrition Education Across the Medical Continuum initiative highlights America’s leading medical education institutions that are implementing comprehensive nutrition education and training,” the website said.
Kennedy has encouraged schools to commit to a minimum of 40 hours of required nutrition education across all four years of undergraduate medical education or a minimum 40-hour competency equivalent beginning in Fall 2026.
Currently, the continuum is working with 36 states, 73 committed institutions of higher education and over 52,000 medical students receiving enhanced nutrition education.