Opinion: The medical school nutrition blues

OpinionFirst Opinion Podcast The medical school nutrition blues Two students on finding the right way for medical school to tackle preventive health Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Torie BoschApril 29, 2026 Editor, First Opinion Torie Bosch[email protected]Torie Bosch is the First Opinion editor at STAT. One of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s refrains has focused on medical education: Doctors don’t know enough about nutrition and preventive medicine, he likes to say. He has encouraged medical schools to beef up (tallow up?) their education on healthy eating and its connection to chronic disease. What do medical students think of this?Advertisement On this week’s episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” I spoke with Tiffany Onyejiaka, a fourth-year medical student, and Lauren Rice, who is poised to start her residency in internal medicine this summer. Both have written First Opinion essays on Kennedy’s claims. In November, Tiffany argued that it would be more productive to support the work of registered dietitians and encourage them to collaborate with doctors. More recently, Lauren wrote that she agreed that medical school needs more of a preventive health mindset. I brought them together to discuss each other’s arguments and compare their experiences in medical school.Advertisement “Our country’s health is going down a very poor trajectory and something needs to change,” Lauren said on the podcast. “I don’t have the answer to what that needs to be. I don’t think Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has the answer. I don’t think anyone has the answers. But the conversation needs to start and it needs to a conversation with a lot people at the table.” Though their pieces might seem to be in tension, the two agreed in many ways, and their different perspectives led to some interesting conclusions. “Yes, doctors need more help, but I feel like there’s so many people that are already doing the work and there are so many barriers that I feel we would get more of an impact by trying to really focus on helping them and then having doctors engaged instead of starting with us,” said Tiffany. Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode by signing up for the “First Opinion Podcast” newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter, delivered every Sunday. chronic disease, education, nutrition Submit a correction requestReprints Torie Bosch Editor, First Opinion Torie Bosch is the First Opinion editor at STAT. Newsletter The smartest thinkers in life sciences on what's happening — and what's to come Recommended Lab Dish April 29, 2026 STAT Plus: Did Kennedy just stack the deck on FDA oversight of peptides? First Opinion April 29, 2026 Why alternative medicine can feel so much better than mainstream health care Advertisement First Opinion April 28, 2026 Healthcare or health care? Help STAT decide First Opinion April 28, 2026 FDA commissioner: ‘Smarter,’ real-time clinical trials could transform drug development First Opinion April 28, 2026 It’s time to seize the rare bipartisan opening to address microplastics Subscriber Picks