Trump Administration Prioritizes Nutrition Education in Medical Training
The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda is expanding to include a renewed focus on nutrition education within medical school curricula. This initiative, launched earlier in 2025, aims to provide medical professionals with a more comprehensive understanding of the critical role nutrition plays in disease prevention and overall health outcomes.
Reforms to Medical Education
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, is implementing reforms designed to integrate comprehensive nutrition education throughout all stages of medical training. These efforts are intended to hold institutions accountable and better prepare future physicians to prioritize preventative care rather than solely focusing on treatment of chronic diseases. Despite extensive research demonstrating the link between nutrition and disease prevention, many medical students currently graduate with limited formal training in nutritional counseling.
Leadership and Support
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) recently attended an event hosted by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, recognizing institutions leading these reforms. “For decades, chronic diseases have placed this enormous burden on families and our entire health care system,” said Cramer. “And despite the strong correlation with an individual’s diet, most physicians receive little or really no training for the most part on nutrition while they’re in medical school. This education gap undermines our ability to address preventable illnesses. The Make America Healthy Again movement really is holding institutions accountable and affirming a simple truth that food is foundational to health.”
Secretary Kennedy emphasized that this breakthrough in medical education will fundamentally change how doctors are trained in the United States, fulfilling President Trump’s commitment to address the chronic disease epidemic. “Chronic disease is bankrupting our health system, and poor nutrition sits at the center of that crisis,” stated Secretary Kennedy. “Today medical schools are committing to change how America trains its doctors — by putting nutrition back where it belongs: at the heart of patient care.”
State and Local Initiatives
North Dakota is already actively participating in this initiative. The state’s application for the Rural Health Transformation Fund included nutrition-focused reforms, such as legislation requiring nutrition education as part of physicians’ continuing education. Lawmakers have allocated $85 million towards the “Make North Dakota Healthy Again” effort through programs like Eat Well ND and ND Moves Together, which promote evidence-based nutrition and physical activity practices.
The Make America Healthy Again Commission
This initiative is guided by the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, established through an Executive Order in February 2025. Chaired by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Commission is focused on investigating and addressing the root causes of the escalating health crisis, with an initial emphasis on childhood chronic diseases. The Commission’s policy directives include promoting transparency in health research, prioritizing gold-standard research on the causes of illness, supporting farmers in producing healthy food, and expanding treatment options for preventative lifestyle changes [White House Fact Sheet].
The USDA is also actively involved, leading a coordinated effort to restore common sense to federal nutrition policy, empower states, support farmers, and improve the quality of food available to American families [USDA Make America Healthy Again]. Six new state waivers have been signed to support these goals [USDA Press Release].