The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ effort to strengthen nutrition education in medical schools is the latest development in a broader push to integrate nutrition more deeply into healthcare practices amid divided opinions on whether physicians should have stronger nutrition foundations or if dietitians’ expertise should be woven into medical practices.
The Academy and the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) introduced ACEND Nutrition in Medical Education Microcredential Framework earlier this month. The national initiative, which aligns with the HHS Medical Education Nutrition Competency Framework, aims to strengthen evidence-based nutrition education in medical schools by leveraging ACEND-accredited dietitians and nutrition programs to train future physicians on when and how nutrition should be integrated into patient care.
In a panel earlier this month, Academy President Tammy Randall said that stronger nutrition education should help future physicians “recognize nutrition needs, collaborate with RDNs and connect patients with specialized care,” while emphasizing that “RDNs are the nutrition experts.”
Nutrition care, according to experts, is a collaborative effort between nutritionists, dieticians and physicians. Victoria Fisher, chair of the Academy’s Nutrition and Dietetics Educators and Preceptors Council, noted that “the physicians simply cannot know everything. The RDN knows how to take care of the patient’s nutrition in any state of health or disease, and collaboration is key.”
The ACEND framework comes as national attention around nutrition education in medicine continues to grow.
Last year, HHS’ mandate to incorporate nutrition education into medical training sparked debate about the feasibility of implementing them into existing medical programs. While many stakeholders supported greater nutrition education among physicians, critics cautioned that additional training and counseling responsibilities could further strain significant patient workloads. Dietitians also argued that nutrition education should help physicians identify nutrition-related concerns and encouraged more collaboration with RDNs rather than expecting physicians to become nutrition specialists themselves.
The Academy’s push also aligns with a wider movement to increasingly connect nutrition with healthcare initiatives. Addressing systemic failures in both food and health systems is part of initiatives to make nutrition the cornerstone of US healthcare. Nearly nine in 10 physicians (87%) reported they were not sufficiently trained to guide patients on nutrition.
Implications for CPG brands
The growing emphasis on nutrition education also comes at a time when consumers report increasing confidence in their own nutrition knowledge. Nearly three-quarters of consumers believe their food and health knowledge is sufficient and that they are confident in their ability to identify accurate nutrition information. At the same time, doctors and healthcare practitioners remain among the most trusted sources of nutrition information, while trust in the broader food system remains comparatively low.
For food and beverage manufacturers in the long-term, nutrition guidance may become more closely linked to healthcare. GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, for example, have increasingly created more nutrition education from stakeholders on the need for smaller portions to contain nutrient dense foods. The rise in GLP-1 use has prompted more industry awareness around the role of protein, fiber and other micronutrients to support bone, muscle and cardiovascular health. These efforts include clearer front-of-pack call outs on nutrients, despite a lack of a legal framework on what claims can be used specifically for GLP-1 use. As providers become more comfortable discussing nutrition and referring patients for specialized counseling, healthcare professionals could play a larger role in shaping how consumers evaluate nutrition claims, dietary recommendations and food choices.
As Diane Enos, CEO of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, noted: “We all have a relationship with food ... who better, though, to refer to actually talk about the complexity of nutrition than the true expert, and that’s the registered dietitian.”
