Calling it “one the most important course corrections in modern American medicine,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced this week that a growing number of medical schools and accrediting agencies are signing on to the Trump administration’s Nutrition Education Pledge. The pledge involves a promise to provide at least 40 hours of nutrition education as a graduation requirement for medical schools beginning in Fall 2026.
Kennedy has blasted poor diets as the “primary driver of America’s chronic disease epidemic.” He said the pledge reflects the “shifting landscape toward placing nutrition and prevention at the core of patient health.”
“That means nutrition will no longer sit at the margins of medical education,” Kennedy said. “It will shape what students learn, what physicians master, what licensing boards assess, and ultimately how patients receive care.”
Kennedy was joined by eight accrediting agencies in the medical field as he made his remarks June 8. Those organizations are:
- The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
- The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME)
- The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)
- The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
- The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA)
- The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
- The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
- The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)
Additionally, Kennedy announced that 19 medical schools recently signed the nutrition education pledge, bringing the total number to 73.
Fierce Healthcare, a healthcare policy news site, reports that schools will not face any monetary penalties if they fall short of the 40-hour curricula goal, and that HHS and the Education Department won’t dictate what nutrition information is taught.
Kennedy’s announcement follows the May announcement of a $2.1 million “Integration of Nutrition Training into Health Care Education” challenge from the National Institutes of Health. The purpose of the challenge is to “identify, evaluate, and promote effective, scalable, and evidence-based approaches to integrating nutrition training into medical and nursing education.” The competition is open through Sept. 15. Winners are expected to be announced Oct. 20.
While the nutrition education pledge is not specifically mentioned in the challenge rules, entrants must have existing or planned nutrition education programs that align with HHS’ “Medical Education Nutrition Competency Framework,” which requires 40 hours of nutrition education.
