A professionally-diverse panel of medical and nutrition experts have proposed a set of recommended nutrition competencies for medical students and physician trainees. The study addresses a longstanding concern that most physicians in the U.S.
are not equipped to advise patients about nutrition and food choices. The proposed competencies are a call to action in response to the U.S.
House of Representatives' bipartisan resolution H. Res. 1118, which calls for "meaningful physician and health professional education on nutrition and diet.
" The resolution cited concerns about the increasing prevalence of diet-related diseases and Medicare costs, which totaled $800 billion in 2019. Congressional annual financial support for medical trainees in U.S.
hospitals was estimated at $16.2 billion in 2020. It's shocking that there are no nationally required nutrition competencies within medical education.
This is a surprising and important gap, considering the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related chronic diseases in this country, as well as their ever-increasing financial and societal costs. My guess is that most patients assume their doctors are trained to advise them about nutrition and food choices, but this has simply not been part of their required training." David Eisenberg, lead author, adjunct associate professor of nutrition and director of culinary nutrition at Harvard T.
H. Chan School of Public Health The study will be published September 30 in JAMA Network Open.