MedPage Today (07/08/25) Henderson, Jennifer

Continuing medical education (CME) in nutrition will be required for physicians in Louisiana and Texas under new "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) laws in those states. In Louisiana, physicians and physicians assistants will have to take at least 1 hour of nutrition and metabolic health-related CE every 4 years, beginning in 2026. That course time will be a part of the overall number of required CE hours, not in addition to the total. "Our physicians do believe that 1 hour every 4 years is more than sufficient," said Jeff Williams, executive vice president and CEO of the Louisiana State Medical Society. "Physicians, particularly those who are younger, have been receiving nutrition in school and already discuss nutrition with their patients. For them, the challenge may be finding a course that qualifies and is new information." Meanwhile, a new Texas law states that physicians who apply to renew their licenses must complete CME in nutrition and metabolic health. A proposed measure would also ask medical schools to include a minimum of 3 hours of coursework in nutrition, discussing such topics as caloric intake, additives commonly found in foods and beverages in the United States, and diet modifications. Thus far, at least two other states are planning to take or have already taken steps to include CME in nutrition. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently indicated he plans to tell medical schools to teach nutrition or risk losing federal funding.

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