Dietitian vs Nutritionist: Educational Requirements, Salary, Work Fields and Job Roles 2023

Who is a Dietitian?

Dietitian in simple words is a registered individual body under the Ministry of Health expert who helps in identifying and solving the problem in a person related to malnutrition. 

• A registered dietitian must have done bachelors in public health nutrition, dietetics, or any other similar discipline. 
• Different fields a person can attain a bachelor's degree for being a dietitian are: Dietetics, Nutrition, Food Science, Human Nutrition, Nutrition Science, etc.
• Dietitians are the expert individuals who are regulated by law in the nutrition sector. 
• Dietitians help the patients who are advised by the doctors to consult one about their nutritional assessment and intervention.
• Dietitian is the one who helps the person to boost their eating habits and nutrition needs simply by correcting and making changes in their eating habits. 
• They help the people with their diet charts, planning their meals, and put together reports for doctors to check after changes in eating habits. Dietitians make everyone aware of healthy consumption.

Check: Diploma Nutrition and Health Education

Who is a Nutritionist?

Nutritionists are professionals who help people in learning the relationship between food and health. 

• They provide patients with information about the importance of nutrition so that it can help the latter in disease prevention and healthy living. 
• The person who wants to be a nutritionist must have done 10+2 with biology and a bachelor’s degree in the field of nutrition or in the science stream would help.
• The nutritionist also works towards providing information about healthy eating but like a dietitian doesn’t always have to be registered with the Ministry of Health. They are not guarded by law.
• They help people in choosing a healthy lifestyle, food to eat, advice about nutrition intake, and different policies related to health. 
• They help doctors in treating the patients when they have problems related to their eating habits like food intolerance, eating disorders, and allergies. 
• They also work as health and wellness coaches. 
• To call an individual a nutritionist a proper formal registration is not necessary, but still, there has to be proper education to be one.
• They also host seminars where they help people with living a healthy lifestyle. They help people make better choices about their diet.

Check: PG Diploma in Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics

Dietitian vs Nutritionist

• A dietitian, on one hand, is the law abided professional who works as a nutrition expert to ensure that the right kind of diet is provided to people with some dietary issues or illness. 
• On the other hand, nutritionists are not always registered with the ministry of health. They also help people in achieving a healthy lifestyle and eating habits according to their health and issues.
• Dietitians are people who can advise people about the health or disease they are suffering from in different contexts. They help in implementing programs to promote a healthy lifestyle. 
• Whereas, Nutritionists couldn’t advise about the diet plans for various diseases. They can only guide and instruct about the food and healthy eating habits. 
• Unlike a dietitian, a nutritionist cannot cure any disease.

Check: PhD Food and Nutrition

Educational Requirements

• For becoming a dietitian or nutritionist a person must have done at least 10+2 with the science stream. 
• After which they have to pursue their bachelor’s degree in food nutrition, public health nutrition, dietetics, and other similar disciplines. 
• As there are different types of degrees a person should choose the one which is Academy of Nutrition and Dietitian accredited. 
• The accreditation of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietitian is done by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics Organization. 
• This organization helps in making the process of getting a degree like education, guidance for getting your degree, and also the process of getting your certificate after your degree easy for the candidates.
• With that, internships of many hours help in the betterment of their career. 
• Dietitians may also learn about foodservice system management.

Working Methodology

• Dietitians and nutrition have somehow had the same working methodology. 
• They both look after the patients’ health and nutritional needs. 
• They assist the person with nutritional intake, help them with their unhealthy food habits and promote a healthy diet, nutrition. 
• They also companies regarding their food material and help them create and sell healthy food options in the market. 
• The only difference is that dietitians are certified and nutritionists could be certified or not.

Check: Top Dietetics Colleges In Maharashtra

Area Of Work

• The area of work for dieticians and nutritionists is a bit different due to some limitations. 
• As dietitians are registered under the ministry of health they guide the people suffering from illness with diet charts, about proper nutrition intake. 
• They tend to guide patients with acute illness with their diet charts under doctor recommendations. 
• On the other hand, nutritionists who are not registered with the government could not make diet plans for patients. 
• Although they can work in retirement homes, physician offices and guide people there with the proper and healthy intake of diet.

Check: Top BSc in Dietetics Colleges In India

Average Salary

• The salary of both dietitians and nutritionists may vary according to their skills, knowledge, and experience. 
• It increases when the experience of the dietitian and nutritionist is high. And having more knowledge and experience also pays more to the professionals.