We would often come across the terms nutritionist and dietitian in the hospital or in a health government agency but very seldom we really understand with clarity what distinctly separates them from each other.
More often we interchangeably use the terms nutritionist and dietitian thinking that both medical fields are one and the same. But are they really one and the same? Do they really belong to the same field of specialization?
What would be the similarities and differences between a Nutritionist and a Dietitian?
In setting the differences or the similarities between a nutritionist and a dietitian, you would be required to have the technical know-how about the medical field. However, if you are merely trying to define what sets apart a nutritionist from a dietitian, this would go a little easier and will not require you to acquire hard skills about the medical profession.
In a way, a nutritionist is also a dietitian but only to a certain extent. Both the nutritionist and the dietitian are medically trained to do some corrections or modifications on the eating pattern or customs of a person in order to have the person embrace a healthy lifestyle. These medical experts are specially trained to advise and give assistance to people on how they can healthily prepare and plan the meals for each day. Most likely, the people who are being affected by these are those that are suffering from severe anorexia or obesity.
However, if you would want to be very technical about the differences and the similarities between a nutritionist and a dietitian, there can be a way – ask someone who is from the medical field.
According to them, a nutritionist is a medical expert who basically studies the adverse effects of the chemical composition and nutritional content found in the food that we intake. They generally study and analyze the effects of food that a human takes when they get into the human body. A nutritionist and a dietitian though are being employed in order to give assistance to people on how they can better recuperate and recover from an illness with the proper food intake.
Unlike the field of nutrition which is not sub-divided into several types of practitioners, the field of dietary is diverse and engaged in a lot of disciplines. There are actually several types of dietary disciplines. These are the following:
- Management Dietitians. These are people who are employed in large establishments like a food chain company or a prison facility where they devise ahead of time a huge plan about the meal that should be distributed to people.
- Consultant Dietitians. Usually, these medical practitioners are private practitioners. Or they are also found in major healthcare facilities in order to carry out specialization in planning for the dietary programs of the people that they are working with.
If you really want to understand the differences or the similarities between these two closely related medical disciplines, it is best you seek for some professional help from someone who knows and practices these disciplines.
Author: Min Kim who is regular contributor at her health blog. Follow her on Google+.






