Nutrition in medical training programmes has widely been viewed as unsatisfactory, but a movement to change this is gathering pace.
Research studies and initiatives to improve nutrition education in medicine have been growing, announcing it’s “time for nutrition in medical education”. That’s the name of one of these significant scientific studies conducted by university researchers from around the UK.
The study recognised the growing demand for improved nutrition education in medical training and a better understanding of when doctors should provide nutritional care or refer patients to specialists.
We need more nutrition education in medicine
“When talking about nutrition education for healthcare professionals, we know this improves patient outcomes and that educating healthcare professionals needs an evidence-based approach,” said one of the study’s authors, Professor Shumone Ray, on why the time for nutrition in medical education is very much needed. “This also impacts specific disease outcomes based on therapeutic modalities.”
“Quality of life can also improve significantly through nutrition education programmes, and we can prevent malnutrition, particularly in patients, by incorporating nutrition and implementation pathways,” said Ray, who is also a licensed medical doctor, registered nutritionist, and founding chair, chief scientist and executive director of NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (NNEdPro).
Low doctor engagement is a key current challenge in the medical nutrition sector. “There are some structural barriers here,” said Ray. Opportunities are also present though, with interprofessional education, including innovative means such as culinary nutrition education entering the sector.
A growing body of research and action supports efforts
Over the last decade and a half, there are key moments when “we have been able to move the needle using many dozens of publications in the field”, said Ray. These have helped to strengthen the case for nutrition within medicine and healthcare education.
In recent years, researchers have explored the global architecture of nutrition training in healthcare professionals and how to improve the underpinning evidence base of research that fuels nutrition education. Scientists have also been finding the place for nutrition in healthcare education and practice. “We see that there is no one place for nutrition,” Ray confirmed.
Researchers have investigated the importance of “putting nutrition education on the table,” emphasising the need to develop a curriculum that meets the needs of future doctors. Front-line staff will be trained to feel confident in addressing nutrition-related concerns with patients as an integral aspect of improved care. They can also make appropriate referrals for nutrition support to registered nutritionists/registered associate nutritionists or registered dietitians when necessary.
In the wider sector, organisations like NutriTank are also pushing for change, emphasising the importance of nutrition in medical education.
In Europe, ESPEN is also working to boost nutrition training in medical schools. Similar updates in this movement are also taking place in the US.
“The burden of diet-related disease is rapidly growing, yet nutrition education of physicians remains sorely lacking,” said Dr Stephen Devries, cardiologist and co-leader of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health based Nutrition Education Working Group. “Physicians better trained in nutrition are also much more likely to make referrals to dietitians, a vastly underutilised resource,” added Dr Devries.
Nutrition in medicine enters the curriculum
In the UK, the Association for Nutrition (AfN) developed a new undergraduate curriculum in nutrition for medical doctors. The new curriculum aims to give undergraduate medical students basic knowledge and understanding of nutrition that can be developed further within foundation and speciality training.
While these voluntary guidelines, which the NNEdPro collaborated on, are a positive sign of progress, they are not without their downsides. “The implementation is somewhat patchy and voluntary, and so, there isn’t necessarily consensus across the board or a consistent method of implementation,” said Ray.
Consumers and patients make food choices that are more sensitive to health and disease prevention, which in turn changes consumption patterns and demand. If there is a change in demand, there is also a change in supply. Changes in supply mean changes to food production, food distribution and food environments. There is therefore an onward effect on the food and health industries. Accurate nutrition advice to patients and the public impacts the food and health industries, prompting further action.
The National Health Service’s (NHS) Long Term Plan highlights nutrition’s key role in health and aims to “ensure nutrition has a greater place in professional education training”. Integrating nutrition into the core curriculum instead of offering it as a separate subject aims to enhance students’ comprehension of how nutrition is connected to health and disease.
US institutions are responding to this need too. “We have long known that food and nutrition play a vital role in health and wellness, affecting both individuals and society as a whole, yet these topics continue to be underrepresented in the training of health professionals,” said Emily Broad Leib, Director of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation.
UT Southwestern Medical Center, for example, launched a Culinary Medicine programme that offers online modules on nutrition education designed for students and practising physicians.
NNEdPro has a summer school in Applied Human Nutrition. It aims to build capacity by bringing medical and healthcare professionals together with other interdisciplinary professionals. The organisation has created the Essentials of Nutrition in Medicine and Healthcare textbook designed to provide a practical guide that takes a systems-based approach to serving different specialities.
Addressing nutrition education challenges
The studies looking at this space have been “inspired by some of the gaps that we have witnessed in policy and practice, which can be better fulfilled through a solid base in nutrition education,” said Ray.
Aligning policymakers, practitioners and the public is a core challenge. NNEdPro recommends a regulatory framework at two levels. One is needed for the nutrition research that goes into education and advice to ensure it is of optimum quality. The second relates to the quality of nutrition education. “We need a regulatory framework around practice and practitioners and the quality of advice that they can give to patients and the public, as there’s a lot of variability in this area, depending on who you ask,” added Ray.
NNEdPro also runs an annual international summit that combines different disciplines and develops implementation pathways to overcome current challenges. “We are stronger when we collaborate and come up with joint implementation pathways,” said Ray. In December 2025, NNEdPro held its 10th international summit. It continues to create implementation pathways using the knowledge it has gained to develop plans for the industry to adapt, spread, and scale in the UK and other countries.
Editorial notes
Source: Interview with Professor Shumone Ray, a Licensed Medical Doctor, a Registered Nutritionist, and NNEdPro Founding Chair, Chief Scientist and Executive Director of NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health.
Author interviews conducted and blog post originally written April 2024
