This week I happily received my renewal certificate for registration with the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN). The UKVRN is run by the Association for Nutrition (AfN) a registered charity that works to benefit the public by advancing standards of evidence-based practice across the field of nutrition. The AfN ensures that all registered nutritionists are regulated and working to recognised standards and competencies. Registrants are expected to keep up to date through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to ensure evidence-based practice is maintained.
One question that comes up quite often is what is the difference between a Nutritionist and a Dietitian? the main areas are as follows:
In summary, if you want help with a medical condition (e.g., diabetes, kidney disease, eating disorders), you should see a Dietitian and can search for one on their official registry the HCPC here:
If you need general nutrition advice (e.g., improving diet, weight management, public health programs), a Registered Nutritionist can help, and you can search for one on the UKVRN here:
www.associationfornutrition.org
It is worth checking either of these registers before taking any nutritional advice, this could be a private consultation or magazines, social media or TV, all you need is a name to do a quick check of credentials and gain instant reassurance, this is important as unfortunately there is widespread disinformation within the nutrition sphere.
MLT Nutrition 