PAN International urges system-wide nutrition training, not just more medical school hours

The Physicians Association for Nutrition (PAN) International is calling for wider adoption of nutrition education and training across medical schools to drive system-wide change. Nutrition Insight speaks with the medical nonprofit to discuss this gap, even though professionals increasingly recognize nutrition’s importance for preventative health. 

Health care systems recognize diet is key to preventing and managing chronic disease, yet PAN International sees that this is not reflected in everyday care. 

Sumati Bajaj, nutrition knowledge specialist, further comments: “The evidence demonstrating the power of diet as a preventive measure is clear. Research shows that plant-rich, healthy, sustainable diets could prevent up to 15 million premature deaths each year, largely attributed to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.”

“Despite this, current health care systems remain largely reactive, structured around diagnosing and treating disease once it has developed, rather than embedding prevention, including nutrition and healthier food environments, into routine care.”

Pointing to evidence revealing a gap in health care professional training, Bajaj underscores that 71% of physicians take up to or fewer than 10 hours of nutrition teaching across their degrees and only 61% feel prepared to address nutrition issues.

“This means that even when health care professionals recognize the importance of diet, they may lack the confidence, tools, or system support to translate that knowledge into meaningful, patient-centered care. This is where culinary medicine becomes particularly relevant.”

“It helps bridge nutrition science and everyday food practice, giving clinicians ways to move from abstract dietary advice to practical and culturally relevant guidance that patients can realistically follow.”

PAN International views culinary medicine as a practical route to help health care professionals make an evidence-based impact on patient behavior.She notes PAN International views culinary medicine as a practical route to help health care professionals make an evidence-based impact on patient behavior by making healthy dietary patterns more accessible. 

Embedding nutrition into health care

BMJ research highlighted that only 45% of medical education accreditation documents mention nutrition. Bajaj says that this data shows that what medical schools prioritize is shaped by accreditation and curriculum guidance. It also shapes what future doctors are expected to know when they enter practice.

“If nutrition is not clearly built into those frameworks, it is unlikely to be taught consistently or translated into clinical confidence. The result is that many doctors graduate understanding the importance of diet in principle but without enough preparation to take a basic diet history, recognize nutrition-related risk, offer brief evidence-based guidance, or refer patients appropriately.”

“This is supported by research cited in the BMJ, which found that physician confidence in practical nutrition competencies remains low. At the same time, dietary patterns, food cultures, and nutrition-related health challenges vary considerably across regions and populations. Health care professionals, therefore, need the skills not only to understand nutrition science but also to adapt evidence-based guidance to the cultural, economic, and environmental realities of the communities they serve.”

PAN International recognizes this gap and is working to address it through its Global Nutrition Observatory for Medical Nutrition Education (GNOME) initiative in partnership with the Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, NNEdPro.

“PAN International is helping to map how nutrition is taught across regions and identify where medical training can be strengthened. This kind of evidence is important for supporting curriculum reform, policy dialogue, and more consistent nutrition education worldwide,” says Bajaj.

She also points to PAN International’s co-development of the Healthcare Professionals Action Brief, which provides advice on embedding nutrition into clinical care, education, and health policy. 

Bajaj calls for embedding nutrition support into existing structures, not creating more standalone programs outside the system.“This does not mean every doctor needs to become a dietitian. It means every doctor should have enough nutrition competence to recognize diet-related risk, start an informed conversation, provide basic evidence-based guidance, and refer appropriately.”

“Ultimately, medical training needs to move beyond theory. Future clinicians need opportunities to practice discussing food and dietary change with patients in real-world settings so they can translate nutrition evidence into practical, personalized, and culturally relevant advice.”

Make integration streamlined

With the demands of a clinician’s responsibilities, they may often lack the time, tools, and incentives to bring nutrition into routine care. To prevent overburdening professions, Bajaj suggests: “The first step is to make nutrition easier to include in routine care, rather than expecting already overstretched clinicians to take on another complex task without support.”

“In primary care, this could mean embedding a small number of simple, structured questions about dietary patterns into routine patient records, alongside clear referral routes to dietitians and trusted evidence-based resources.”

“In hospitals, nutrition can be built into existing care pathways. This includes discharge planning, long-term condition management, cardiac rehabilitation, diabetes care, oncology support, and postoperative recovery. It should also be reflected in the everyday food environment, including the meals served to patients, visitors, and staff. If health care settings are advising people to eat differently, the food they provide should reinforce, not undermine, that advice.”

Concurrently, Bajaj urges short, practical nutrition training to build confidence in having conversations in real-world time constraints through culinary medicine so clinicians factor in shopping, cooking, and meal planning with awareness of cultural and economic realities. She highlights PAN International’s Culinary Medicine Working Group and its work with international collaborations to support this cause.

“The key is not to create another standalone program sitting outside the system. It is to embed nutrition support into touchpoints that already exist: consultations, discharge conversations, multidisciplinary team meetings, group education sessions, hospital kitchens, community referrals, and routine professional training.”

System-level action

PAN International calls for prevention approaches at a system level, as the responsibility should not just be dependent on individuals to make better choices. Bajaj points out that food decisions are made across levels within food systems, such as hospitals, clinics, workplaces, schools, and communities. 

Future clinicians need opportunities to practice discussing food and dietary change with patients in real-world settings, says Bajaj.“At the policy level, nutrition needs to be treated as part of health care quality, prevention, and health system design, not simply as lifestyle advice. That means stronger nutrition requirements in medical education and accreditation, investment in continuing professional development, clinical guidelines that make nutrition a routine part of care, and reimbursement models that support preventive nutrition counseling and referral.”

“Health care institutions also need to model the guidance they give,” she adds. “This includes healthier patient meals, staff canteens, and procurement standards, as well as stronger links between clinicians, dietitians, chefs, community organizations, and public health teams. If health care systems are advising people to eat in ways that support health, the food environments within those systems should reflect that advice.”

Meanwhile, Bajaj says that civil society and professional networks are essential to translate nutrition science to clinical practice, education, and policy.

“The challenge is no longer proving that nutrition matters; it is ensuring health care professionals have the training, support, incentives, and health care environments needed to act on that knowledge consistently,” she says, which PAN International is actively supporting.

Bajaj welcomes news that medical schools in the US are increasing the number of hours students study nutrition so that nutrition no longer sits at the “margins” of medical education.

“According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 73 institutions have committed to enhanced nutrition education, with participating schools encouraged to adopt a minimum of 40 hours of required nutrition education or a competency equivalent from Fall 2026.”

“But more needs to happen. Required hours are a starting point, not the end goal. The quality, content, and practical application of that training are key to determining how impactful it is. Nutrition education should be evidence-based, clinically relevant, and integrated across medical training, rather than treated as a single, standalone block of information.” 

According to Bajaj, nutrition education should be integrated into assessment, as it would receive priority from institutions, educators, and students. “Training should cover prevention, chronic disease management, patient communication, cultural context, food insecurity, planetary health, and referral pathways.”

“The wider lesson is global. Nutrition education should not depend on isolated champions or optional modules. It needs to be embedded into accreditation, assessment, continuing professional development, and clinical practice.” 

“The goal is not to turn every doctor into a nutrition specialist, but to ensure every doctor is prepared to recognize nutrition-related risk, provide basic evidence-based guidance, and work effectively with dietitians and other members of the care team,” concludes Bajaj.