Dietician versus Nutritionist
DIETICIAN VS NUTRITIONIST: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO?
A dietician is a specialized expert who is supposed to provide a person with medical advice related to nutrition therapy and counseling. On the other hand, a nutritionist is another type of expert who is known to provide necessary facts and details related to the consumption of healthy foods and the type of foods that you must consume to stay fit, healthy, and free from diseases. Though apparently, these two types of professions sound more or less similar. So, it is therefore important for you to understand the difference between a dietician and a nutritionist so that you can approach the correct professional, based on your needs. It is a common mistake for many people to consider a dietician and a nutritionist to be the same, but these two are slightly different from each other. This article therefore intends to clarify the basic differences between a dietician and a nutritionist. It will discuss what these two professions mean separately, what types of qualities are required for these professions, and most importantly, how these two professions differ from each other.
What are dieticians and nutritionists all about? Here are all the details that you need to know about
Role of a registered dietician- What is a dietician all about?
A dietician is a person who is a professional in food and nutrition-related matters and is approved by the board. In some cases, dieticians can be nutritionists as well, but nutritionists are experts who can advise you to consume certain healthy foods but not as a medical prescription. So, to understand the professions of a dietician and a nutritionist clearly, it is important to look deeper and understand how a dietician can be different from a nutritionist.
A registered dietician is someone who have received professional training for quite sometime to provide guidance and advice to their patients related to good health and foods that can be beneficial for people. These registered dieticians usually ask their patients to consume a healthy a balanced diet that is rich in enough nutrients, that too, in proper and measured quantities, which would be beneficial for their overall health and physiological functioning. So, professional and registered dieticians are known to provide medical advices to their patients that are related to both food and wellness, that is, of being in good health. For being a registered dietician, one has to necessarily pass certain examinations, that is, it needs getting a proper degree for graduation, a certificate for internship, the person needs to pass at least one national examination, and should therefore be granted proper license for practice, that must be granted by the state. To understand what a professional dietician does, it is to be aware of the fact that dieticians can have a number of functions to perform, for instance, to recommend proper and appropriate nutrition for children and new mothers, create healthy diet charts for sportspeople and athletes, suggest nutrition for oncological or cancer patients. Registered dieticians also aid in suggesting the diet of a patient who has Type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus, and they must also simultaneously look after the old and aged and thus needs to know how to cure (or at least reduce) the risks of chronic diseases.
Apart from these, there are other things that a professional and a registered dietician can do, for instance, trained and registered dietitians can specialize in certain fields that have specific nutritional needs. Many dieticians nowadays are also known to work in various types of institutions, where they can provide important insights about a healthy diet and having beneficial foods, such as hospitals, schools, private clinics, care facilities, certain research centers, and so on. Other than these, they can also function in areas that deal with curing unhealthy eating, for example, for example, one would need an expert dietician to prepare nutrition plans and assist in diagnosing and treating illnesses such as eating disorders or unhealthy eating patterns. If trained dieticians have their licenses registered, then they can practice in medical institutions, but also in parallel, should refresh their knowledge through continuing various types of education programs. If you want to become a registered dietician, then to maintain your own registration, you will have to complete certain amount of time, which is at least 75 hours of continuing education in every 5 years. Besides these, there are many examples in which dietitians can also participate in preparing large-scale meal plans for cafeterias or in places where they may take on supervisory roles to oversee kitchen staff and food purchasers. Many dieticians are also found to work at insurance companies, government facilities, and non-government organizations.
Role of a registered dietician- What is a nutritionist all about?
A nutritionist is that kind of an expert who is supposed to provide you with a number of suggestions related to general information on food and healthy eating habits. Unlike the registered dieticians, nutritionists are not proper professionals as such and therefore they not always require any kind of specific professional certificates like dieticians. But for expert practice, a nutritionist does require at least a 2-year associate’s degree and then take an exam to become certified. Nutritionist is also not a professional title that is given to a person, but it is a certain type of expertise that allows a person with relevant knowledge and/or experience in the field to systematically work in various places to make people understand the importance of a healthy and balanced diet. Since more or less anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, it is therefore important for you to choose your nutritionist wisely. Nutritionists generally work in areas (institutions) just like dieticians such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, gyms, and long-term care facilities. In this case, nutritionists do not require any kind of registered certificate or license to practice their roles in institutes unlike in the case of dieticians. This is mostly due to the fact that nutritionists are not supposed to provide nutritional counseling for any specific conditions or to diagnose or treat an illness. But if a person wants to work as a nutritionist, then it would be necessary to enroll into associate degrees and other courses that are available and then to confirm the credentials first. In general, the professional reach of a nutritionist is monitored and controlled by these restrictions to protect the interests of people seeking consultation.
What are the differences between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist?
There are certain basic points of differences between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist and the primary level of difference arises on the basis of education and training. Another significant difference between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist is that a dietician is a professional, while a nutritionist is not. This means that dieticians are expected to complete specific scientific education to practice the medical profession and should also possess proper licenses. When a person is a dietitian then he or she is an expert to suggest you regarding the matters related to a healthy eating plan which would be beneficial for you. It is also the work of a dietician to make you understand that how you can use food to fuel your body, that is, to release the energy from your body in a healthy way.
They differ from nutritionists because, a nutritionist is a self-proclaimed title but not a technical or professional degree and are not usually covered by insurance because this profession is not recognized as the role of a medical health professional.
Though the professions- a dietitian and a nutritionist sound similar, the difference occurs in cases of professional roles as nutritionists have limited roles in the field of health and nutrition than registered dieticians.
Now, the most pertinent question that arises is that whether you should see a registered dietitian or a nutritionist. The answer to this question is that it completely depends on your needs. If you feel that you need a medical diagnosis of your eating patterns and if you need professionals to set your diet with clinical mindsets, it is better to visit dieticians.
