WASHINGTON (Valley News Live) — The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences is among a group of medical schools being recognized by federal officials for adding nutrition training to their curricula, as the Trump administration pushes to make nutrition a standard component of medical education nationwide.
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., attended Thursday’s event in Washington, hosted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. HHS, in coordination with the Department of Education, has launched reforms aimed at weaving nutrition education into every stage of medical training — a response to what officials describe as a longstanding gap in how physicians are prepared to address chronic disease.
“For decades, chronic diseases have placed this enormous burden on families and our entire health care system,” Cramer said. “And despite the strong correlation with an individual’s diet, most physicians receive little or really no training for the most part on nutrition while they’re in medical school. This education gap undermines our ability to address preventable illnesses.”
Cramer added that the Make America Healthy Again movement “is holding institutions accountable and affirming a simple truth that food is foundational to health.”
Kennedy framed the initiative in both economic and medical terms.
“Chronic disease is bankrupting our health system, and poor nutrition sits at the center of that crisis,” Kennedy said. “Today medical schools are committing to change how America trains its doctors — by putting nutrition back where it belongs: at the heart of patient care.”
North Dakota has also taken independent steps aligned with the federal effort. The state’s application for the Rural Health Transformation Fund included legislation requiring nutrition education as part of physicians’ continuing education. State lawmakers also directed $85 million toward the “Make North Dakota Healthy Again” initiative through the Eat Well ND and ND Moves Together programs, which focus on nutrition and physical activity.
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