Many people call themselves nutritionists. Some are more qualified to do so than others. So what is a nutritionist, anyway?

I have a few weeks left of my Master’s degree in Nutrition for Global Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Provided I receive a passing grade in my research project which I am currently working on,  I can join the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists. This means I gain the title Registered Associate Nutritionist (ANutr). This is because the course I am doing is accredited by the Association for Nutrition (AfN).

From the AfN website:
“The Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN) is a register of competent, qualified nutrition professionals who meet our rigorously applied standards for scientifically sound evidence-based nutrition and its use in practice.  The UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists is the only register of qualified nutritionists recognised by Public Health England, NHS Choices and NHS Careers.”

If I work as a nutritionist for at least 3 years I can then apply to be a fully Registered Nutritionist (RNutr). To become an Associate Nutritionist , one must complete an AfN accredited Bachelor’s or Master’s degree .This takes at least a year of full time study.  You must also do CPD ( Continuing Professional Development) , such as completing further accredited training or attending conferences. So why do people who have not done so call themselves nutritionists?

Unfortunately, the title ‘Nutritionist’ is not protected by law. This means anyone can call themselves this, regardless of their training. So someone who has qualified as a personal trainer might decide to call themselves a nutritionist, even if they have no education in nutrition or have just completed a short non-accredited online course. I have unfortunately seen this first hand on numerous occasions.

This situation is even more of a minefield because there is another group of people in the UK called ‘Nutritional Therapists’, who will often give themselves the ‘Nutritionist’ title when advertising their services. These people have received a ‘Diploma in Nutritional Therapy’ from an organisation called the ‘Institute of Optimum Nutrition’. This is not a recognised university and nutritional therapy is seen to be a part of the ‘complementary medicine’ world (alongside homeopathy, reflexology, and so on). Sadly, undercover investigations into Nutritional Therapists by Which! Magazine have shown them to give dangerous, non evidence-based advice and use forms of ‘quack’ analysis like Iridology. To quote Which! :

“Several of the therapists used non-evidence based testing to ‘diagnose’ symptoms.  One of the researchers – who had been trying to conceive unsuccessfully for over a year – was diagnosed with a ‘leathery bowel’ by a therapist who used Iridology – looking at iris patterns, colour and other characteristics of the eye to diagnose symptoms.”

I don’t intend to offend Nutritional Therapists, but as the Diploma is not an AfN-accredited course at a reputable university, there is simply no regulation over what is taught and as a result much of the content may be outdated/ non evidence-based / factually incorrect. Nutritional Therapy and its origins are covered in detail in ‘Bad Science’ by Ben Goldacre.

If you want to consult with a nutritionist on your diet , speak with an ANutr or RNutr. If it relates to a diagnosed medical condition, go to your GP and ask to be referred to a dietician. Dieticians are the only people in the UK trained to give medical advice related to diet. Nutrition is a complex and nuanced subject and needs extensive study from an accredited institution to be understood well.

References:

1. http://www.associationfornutrition.org/
2. https://www.which.co.uk/news/2012/01/nutritional-therapists-gambling-with-your-health-276653/ (Which! investigation)
3. https://www.bda.uk.com/improvinghealth/yourhealth/dietitian_nutritionist ( dietician vs nutritionist vs nutritional therapist)

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