Nutritionist
Nutritionists teach patients and clients about the effects of food on their health, motivating them to make positive changes to their diet.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
Your exact day to day tasks will vary depending on where you work.
Generally, as a nutritionist you might:
- complete research to learn more about a certain area of nutrition
- recruit volunteers to take part in your research
- process and analyse biological samples
- provide scientific advice on healthy eating
- work with hospital patients, supported by doctors, dieticians and nurses
Working environment
You could work in an NHS or private hospital, in the community, at a GP practice, at a health centre or in a laboratory.
Career path and progression
With experience or further training, you could:
- specialise in an area, such as sports nutrition, public health or animal nutrition
- supervise a team of nutritionists
- manage whole projects or policies
- find your own clients and become self employed
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- sensitivity and understanding
- knowledge of biology
- knowledge of training and educating
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to work on your own
- thinking and reasoning skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
How to become
You can get into this job through a university course,
You'll usually need a degree or postgraduate qualification approved by the Association for Nutrition.
Approved courses include:
- food and nutrition
- biochemistry
- physiology
- public health
- health promotion
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including biology or chemistry
- a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
More Information
You might want to get some paid or volunteering experience in the NHS. It could help you get a place on a university course.
You could also consider work experience in:
- food safety
- animal welfare
- food poverty charities
- sports and fitness
- food manufacturing
- university research laboratories
You can find more volunteering opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Do IT.
Career tips
There are some short courses available to help you decide whether nutrition is the right career for you.
You could take:
Professional and industry bodies
After university, you can apply to join the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists which proves you're a qualified or experienced nutritionist.
Further information
You can find out more about:
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External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.