Dietitian

What is a Dietitian?

The following job responsibilities are common for individuals in dietitian roles:

• Develop healthy meal plans and menus for schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and restaurants
• Create meal plans for individual patients seeking to lose weight, prevent illness, manage disease, or handle new health-related dietary restrictions
• Consider patients’ needs and budget concerns when providing dietary advice and guidance
• Conduct presentations for large groups of individuals to educate the public about the importance of healthy eating

A Day in the Life

The primary role of a dietitian is to promote good health through healthy eating habits. Dietitians study nutrition as a means of promoting health, managing disease, and preventing illness, and they may work with individuals, groups, and/or organizations. For example, a dietitian employed by a hospital may spend time with patients suffering from heart disease or renal failure to educate them on new dietary restrictions caused by their health problems and help them form plans for avoiding restricted foods.

Other dietitians work for large organizations—schools, prisons, or nursing homes—and help develop meal plans that will satisfy the nutritional needs of individuals fed by the organization. These dietitians may have administrative responsibilities as well as a role in meal planning; for example, they may be responsible for handling the organization’s food budget and taking that into consideration when developing meal plans.

Another common responsibility for a dietitian is to educate groups of individuals on healthy eating. They may give presentations at schools or nursing homes to teach different age groups how to eat for good health and disease prevention. They may also counsel individuals on how to eat to promote weight loss, or teach new parents on how to feed their infants and toddlers to ensure they’re getting the nutrients needed for proper growth and development.

Typical Work Schedule

Dietitians normally work full-time following the standard 40 hours per week working schedules. However, they may also be required to work on evenings and weekends to meet with their clients’ schedules which adds longer hours to their schedules. Working part-time is also a common choice which includes around one third of the people working in this profession. If you choose to run a private clinic, you will get more flexibility, but you will need to adjust your working schedule to suit the clients’ needs and availability. You should also dedicate some time to read about recent trends and advances in nutritional programs to competitive in this field.

Projected Job Growth

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for dietitians is expected to increase by at least 8 % from 2019 to 2029, which is much faster than the average for all other jobs. Due to the change of culture in recent years, the public have taken greater interest in the role of food and nutrition in promoting health and wellness. The importance of nutrition as a part of preventative healthcare is also a good reason for that interest. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 30% of U.S. adults are obese with many diseases such as diabetes and heart disease associated with obesity. This makes the importance of healthy diets in preventing and even treating illnesses well known. That is why more dietitians will be needed to provide care and guidance for the population especially those more prone to obesity. The increasing demand for dietitians will provide more opportunities to students graduating with related degrees.

Dietitian Specializations

• Clinical dietitians counsel individuals on the benefits of maintaining a healthy diet. They may work for themselves, for a hospital or doctor’s office, or for the government.
• Community dietitians provide nutritional advice to large groups of individuals and often work for health insurance providers, fitness centers, or government organizations.
• Management dietitians work in institutions like schools, nursing homes, and hospitals. They manage food budgets and develop menus and nutrition programs for their institutions.

Typical Employers

Dietitians are required in multiple job settings and therefore have wide range of employers. This includes hospitals of different sizes and levels whether state, local or private. Some work for major corporations designing their nutrition plans as well as sports nutrition plans as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem and Atkins. Some prefer to work privately as self-employed workers which gives them more opportunities but also requires more effort and dedication. Another option is to work for food and nutrition industry as well as research institutes.