Nutritionist

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A nutritionist is a person who advises people on dietary matters relating to health, well-being and optimal nutrition. Nutritionists should not be confused with dietitians. Dietitians are health care professionals who have received specialised, formal accredited tertiary education and training, and undertake internship in hospitals. Dietitians are required to adhere to their regulatory body's code of conduct. They are also the only non-medically-trained healthcare professionals permitted to practise clinically in hospitals or healthcare facilities.

Many "nutritionists" appear on television, in newspapers and magazines, and write bestselling nutritional books.

[edit] Qualifications

Self-identified nutritionists have varying levels of education, and can be someone with little education up to someone who may have the equivalent of a master's degree in Physiology or Biology. It is also not uncommon to find that some nutritionists are anti-food industry.

See Dietitian#Qualification for more information on different academic routes to becoming a dietitian.

[edit] Professional associations

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Although nutritionists in the UK have a trade organization, the Nutrition Society, the term nutritionist is not a protected term. As a result, it can be used by anyone. Registration with the Nutrition Society is currently voluntary, the two categories of registration are Associate or Full registration which branch into Associate Nutritionist (ANutr), Associate Public Health Nutritionist (APHNutr), Registered Nutritionist (RNutr) and Registered Public Health Nutritionist (RPHNutr). The Society is currently actively working on complusory of registration for all nutritionists in order to protect both the profession and the public.