The Intersociety Professional Nutrition Education Consortium's (IPNEC) goal is to achieve national consensus on the identity, training, and certification of Physician Nutrition Specialist.
Given the prevalence of nutritionally related chronic diseases in American society, the training of physicians should include a focus on the relationships of diet to disease. Yet, in spite of scientific data, public interest, U.S. government reports, society studies, and congressional mandates, the teaching of nutrition in medical schools and residency programs remains inadequate. Physicians thus remain insufficiently informed about the role of diet in the prevention and treatment of disease. New efforts must be initiated to train nutrition-literate physicians.
