WHAT DO
DIETITIANS DO
Dietetics is one of the world's fastest growing professions with a key role to play in modern medicine. In both the public and private healthcare sectors, dietitians serve in a wide variety of nutrition fields.
Your first thought on what dietitians do might be weight loss, and you would be right, but that is not all. Obesity is only one of a great many nutrition-related conditions that dietitians can treat. Nutrition is one of the cornerstones of good health and being nutrition experts allows dietitians (who are qualified healthcare professionals) to work in many different fields to assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems using evidence-based recommendations.
PRIVATE PRACTISING
DIETITIANS
Consult with clients that need advice on nutrition therapy to manage various chronic illnesses and disease.
FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT DIETITIANS
Manage the provision of healthy and specialised diets to persons in institutions
CLINICAL
DIETITIANS
Work in a hospital setting (public or private) consulting in- and outpatients, assessing and individualising medical nutrition therapy.
COMMUNITY
DIETITIANS
Work in the public sector and for non-governmental, community-based and non-profit organisations.
CONSULTING
DIETITIANS
RESEARCH/ACADEMIC
DIETITIANS
Consult to food, nutrition, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries
Conducting research studies in various nutrition-related topics. This is important as it provides various stakeholders with evidence that can inform current practices.
Watch this video to see how registered dietitians serve
in a wide variety of nutrition fields in South Africa.