Nutrition

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Exploring nutrition in Medical Education. 

Nutrition is a critical part of medical education, given its central role in preventing and managing chronic diseases. Today, 100% of U.S. medical schools include nutrition in their curricula, though the focus and delivery methods vary. Increasingly, nutrition is taught through integrated, competency-based approaches that reflect the complexity of real-world care and acknowledge the value of community-engagement. Strengthening collaboration between physicians, dietitians, and other health professionals is essential to preparing students to address nutrition-related health challenges.

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A range of curated tools and resources below are available to help medical educators further strengthen nutrition curriculum. With this collaborative approach, we can better equip future physicians to deliver nutrition-informed care.

If you have questions or suggestions for additional nutrition resources, please contact curricularinnovation@aamc.org.  

State of Nutrition in Medical Education and Initiatives  

We are highlighting a few of the seminal articles on nutrition in medical education:  

    Resources from the AAMC

    We are pleased to highlight a new reporting format- the Curriculum Data Snapshot! This report format puts Curriculum SCOPE Survey data in context through a thoughtful and succinct background and summary of relevant literature, highlighting of key findings from the data, and discussion of what curriculum leaders should take away from this information. Check out the latest report on nutrition: 

    You can also peruse select Academic Medicine Resources: 

    Additional materials are found in MedEdPORTAL resources: 

    Community organizations advancing nutrition

    Our longtime community partner Food & Friends is very active with the Food Is Medicine Coalition and they have an ongoing relationship with the GWU med school. 

    The ACLM offers expansive online offerings and resources—anchored in evidence, practical tools, education, and systems innovation—designed to support clinicians, institutions, and learners in integrating lifestyle behavior interventions at scale. Whether you're a clinician aiming to prescribe “food as medicine,” a program director exploring diabetes remission initiatives, or a researcher studying sustainable care models, ACLM provides the infrastructure to turn that vision into reality. 

    The Teaching Kitchen Collaborative is driving innovation in culinary medicine and hands-on health education. Whether you're launching a community teaching kitchen, conducting rigorous program evaluation, or seeking collaboration across institutions, TKC offers structured tools, peer connection, and research infrastructure to support impactful implementation. AAMC is a proud sponsor of the 2025 Teaching Kitchen Symposium. 

    The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) Nutrition and Health Promotion Community of Growth convenes ongoing groups of like-minded individuals who want to informally get together to connect over a topic of interest. The community of growth on Nutrition and Health Promotion aims to advance nutrition and lifestyle medicine within health professions education. It aims to foster a collaborative environment where members can share knowledge, develop curricular resources, and engage in professional development. Topics will focus on nutrition and explore the importance of health behaviors, which are foundational to improving health outcomes. Meetings take place quarterly (March, June, September, December) on the fourth Wednesday of that month at 12:00 PM ET. Learn more.

    Nutrition Topics in Med Ed

    There are a myriad of ways that you can approach nutrition in medical education. This section highlights a few topics related to nutrition education: 

    Culinary Medicine 

    Food Insecurity 

    Obesity 

    Physical Activity  

    Summit on Medical Education in Nutrition

    In March 2023, the AAMC + ACGME + AACOM convened a Summit on Nutrition in Medical Education. Held at the ACGME’s Chicago headquarters, the summit brought together 100 leaders and stakeholders from across medical education to explore two key questions: What knowledge and skills do residents need to confidently and sensitively counsel patients, recognizing the connection between food history and overall health? How can nutrition training in graduate medical education be effectively integrated with undergraduate medical education, clinical practice, and continuing medical education? 

    This collaborative dialogue aimed to strengthen nutrition education at every stage of physician training, ultimately improving patient care and health outcomes. 

    Keep the conversation going in the Curriculum Community! 

    Our Curriculum Community space is intended for medical education conversations with focus on curriculum management, continuous quality improvement, evidenced-based curriculum renewal, and curricular data. You can connect with many people with representatives from both MD- and DO-granting schools.  

    Join now 

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    What's on Your Plate? Culinary Medicine as an Innovative Nutrition Education Model