On June 15th, The Federalist posted an article about Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to prioritize nutrition education in medical training. You really are what you eat, and the American diet is anything but healthy.
The article reports:
Under the leadership of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nutrition education will now be prioritized in U.S. medical organizations through a new initiative to equip doctors to tackle America’s burgeoning health crisis. This joint effort of both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education aims to raise the standards of nutritional education for a variety of the nation’s foremost medical organizations, including medical schools and hospitals. In addition to the 54 medical schools that have previously vowed to implement a minimum of 40 hours of nutrition education, 19 more schools voluntarily agreed to do so, signing the Nutrition Education Pledge, HHS announced Monday. This growing initiative will affect more than 52,000 medical students in 36 states.
Kennedy has spearheaded the initiative as a way to help combat America’s chronic disease crisis. America has a comparatively high rate of chronic illness, with conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease ranking among some of the nation’s leading causes of death. Many of these diseases are caused by a combination of factors, such as lifestyle choices and poor exercise. However, one of the major factors leading to chronic illness is poor nutrition.
“Poor diets are the primary driver of America’s chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy stated Monday. “Today’s announcement reflects the shifting landscape toward placing nutrition and prevention at the core of patient health.”
The article notes:
Battling chronic disease won’t just save HHS money; it will also save on the entire nation’s medical costs, giving much needed relief to taxpayers. America spends about $5.3 trillion on health care per year. From the budget, more than $4.5 trillion goes to chronic diseases and mental health care. Cardiovascular diseases directly cost America’s healthcare system $223.2 billion annually, with that number slated to hit $2 trillion within the next 25 years.
It is going to be interesting to watch this play out. Secretary Kennedy is right, but Americans are addicted to fast food and unhealthy diets. It will be interesting to see if that addiction can be broken.