What is the most common misconception about being a dietitian?
I came across a video a while back from the BDA (The Association of British Dietitians) that asked this question to dietitians and here are 4 responses in a transcript I’ve typed up. The original video is on YouTube and is unlisted.
1. First up was Anne Holdaway, A Consultant dietitian. She said:
‘I think the most common misconception about dietitians is ‘Oh, they’re just going to tell me about healthy eating’ and obviously we’ve got a role to play in terms of optimization of health and wellbeing and prevention of chronic disease. But, it’s also about advising people about how they may practically change their diet for the benefit of their health and the health of those around them, and that might be managing chronic disease as well as disease prevention.’
2. Second came Dr. Duane Mellor RD answered in response to the same question: What’s the most common misconception about being a dietitian?
Dr. Mellor said: ‘We’re the food police, which we’re not. We’re about helping people enjoy food and improve their health at the same time. It’s not about what you can’t eat, it’s about what you can eat.’
3. Third, was Catherine Rabess-Specialist Nutrition Support Dietitian
Catherine said: ‘Many people I’ve spoken to about, you know, me being a dietitian, the first thing they’d say to me is ‘Oh, help me lose weight because that’s what you do.’ And it’s not just about that, you know. I specialize in people who actually are very malnourished and under-weight and I try and support them to put on weight, so there are many areas that we work in other than just weight management.’
4. Lastly, Lucy Jones-a RD.
Lucy said: 'One of the most common misconceptions I find is that people believe that nutritional therapists and other related titles are actually more qualified in nutrition than dietitians, and actually dietitians are the only regulated health professionals related to food and nutrition, so we are the number one experts when it comes to advising people on their health, and I think sometimes that gets lost because of the way that titles are perceived, so helping people to understand that we can be trusted when it comes to diet and nutrition messages.'
What do you think?
For my 50 cents as an English coach for nutrition professionals, I think dietitians are thought of by the average person on the street as people who know about the body and what food you should eat. She (yes, she-there is a predominance of women in this industry and with misogynistic people still roaming the planet and getting premierships in politics, this is another struggle dietitians have even if they don't face it head on every day) She will tell you not to eat cakes and things that the media have decided will be their popular choice of hate attack of the day. As a related point, the sheer number of people I have seen on various online challenges in the nutrition industry, selling supplements and gaining the title Nutrition coach or similar, with no formal qualifications at all, make this problem worse. I wish to offend nobody of course, there is a place for everyone who knows what they are talking about in terms of nutrition, but I believe dietitians need to be better recognized as medical professionals, the same as doctors. Often, people’s lives are in their hands.
The question is, how?
If you would like to say what you think, please do. There is a section for comments here, below or on LinkedIn as usual.
Louise English coach to Nutrition Professionals
