Dietitians
A registered dietitian (RD) has been specially trained up to university degree level, particularly to work in hospital and clinical settings, but is also able to advise you on all aspects of your diet. The title ‘dietitian’ is protected by the Health Professionals Council (HPC), meaning that dietitians must be fully qualified and registered with the HPC in order to use the title dietitian, and must also demonstrate that they have kept up to date in order to provide safe, reliable and evidence-based advice to the public.

Nutritionists
The term ‘nutritionist’ is not currently protected by the Health Professionals Council and so its use is less precise than ‘dietitian’. Indeed, currently, anyone regardless of qualifications, experience and skills can call herself or himself a ‘nutritionist’. Some nutritionists are also registered dietitians. Nutritionists work in a diversity of settings including health promotion (both clinical and non-clinical settings), research, university lecturing, the food industry and the media. Unless they have undertaken training in dietetics, they will not have been specifically trained to provide individualised dietary advice to people who are ill.

The Nutrition Society is the major scientific and professional organisation for nutritionists in the UK. The Society provides scientific meetings, a series of academic journals and also professional registration for its members. To be admitted to the register, nutritionists (and public health nutritionists) need to demonstrate a minimum of 3 years relevant postgraduate work experience in nutrition and must hold a university degree in nutrition (minimum 3 years full-time study) or a closely related subject e.g. nutrition and food science.

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