STAT News – Biotech
Opinion: Future physicians need more nutrition education — but not of the MAHA variety
After decades of research, there is little doubt that nutrition plays a critical role in promoting health across the lifespan. This is especially true among vulnerable populations (infants and young children, pregnant people, the aged, and the food insecure) but also among otherwise healthy people. The well-documented rising tide of obesity has been associated not only with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, but with a drop in U.S. life expectancy. It is estimated that, based on measures of blood glucose, lipids, and other parameters, less than 12% of the adult American population can even be said to metabolically healthy.
It is against this backdrop that we applaud, on its face, the recent directive from U.S. Secretaries Linda McMahon and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to promote nutrition education across medical training. There will undoubtedly be many benefits to a physician workforce with a strong, scientifically grounded understanding of nutrition. But are all of the “Make America Healthy Again” nutrition recommendations truly science-based?”