Doctors say Kennedy’s push for nutrition education in medicine is a good idea — in theory

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing for doctors to receive more education about nutrition.

He announced Wednesday that a team within the Health and Human Services Department would target “the woeful lack of nutrition education in medicine” by making it a greater part of premed and medical school curricula, medical licensing exams, residencies, board certification and doctors’ continuing education.

“We can reverse the chronic disease epidemic simply by changing our diets and lifestyles, but to do that, we need nutrition to be a basic part of every doctor’s training,” Kennedy said in a video on X. “We’ll start by embedding nutrition directly into college premed programs and test it on the MCAT,” the Medical College Admission Test.

The move comes as Kennedy has taken far more controversial steps to reshape public health in America, including slashing vaccine research and downsizing federal health agencies.

HHS did not respond to individual questions but pointed NBC News to a news release.