Dietician vs Nutritionist

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A Nutritionist and a Dietician are health professionals who are experts in nutritional science and assist people in making decisions regarding their health and nutrition. Though they're often confused for being the same profession, but they differ in many respects. They both have different qualifications, different legal status as practitioners and differ in their scope of expertise.

 About

A Nutritionist is a health specialist who devotes professional activity to food and nutritional science, preventive nutrition, diseases related to nutrient deficiencies, and the use of nutrient manipulation to enhance the clinical response to human diseases. A Dietician is an expert in food and nutrition. Dieticians help promote good health through proper eating. They also supervise the preparation and service of food, develop modified diets, participate in research, and educate individuals and groups on good nutritional habits .

 Functions

While a dietician is mostly involved in curing diseases with dietary solutions, a nutritionist mostly consults on dietary problems and overall well being and is not considered legally qualified for treating health conditions (diseases).

A Dietician is often involved in finding and curing dietary and other food related problems with a person. A dietician's job relates with the over all health of a person starting with the right intake of food. They help in forming nutritional plans for patients and prevent illnesses by promoting healthy eating habits.

A Nutritionist has good knowledge of the nutrients of food and their relation with the health of a patient. They may also consult on dietary matters relating to over all well being.

 Qualification

Nutritionists have varying levels of education from someone with little or no education to an individual who has obtained a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree. Dieticians need at least a bachelor’s degree in dietetics, foods and nutrition, food service systems management or a related area. The term  Registered Dietician (RD) is used in the US and any RD needs a degree in nutrition or dietetics, a six to 12-month internship at a healthcare facility, foodservice company or nonprofit agency approved by the  American Dietetic Association and successful completion of a national exam given by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.

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