What is the difference between a Nutritionist and a Registered Dietitian?
The title Nutritionist is not protected by law in all provinces in Canada and is not professionally regulated in the U.S. Therefore, there are no minimum qualifications required by a person to use this title. However the title “Registered Dietitian”, “Professional Dietitian” and “Dietitian” are protected by law in Canada through provincial legislation. Only qualified practitioners who have met national standards for education and training and are members of a provincial regulatory bodies can use one of the following designations — RD, PDt or RDt. Similarly, in the U.S. “Registered Dietitian” is a professionally regulated term. A Registered Dietitian must meet specific education and professional standards. They have completed at least a bachelor’s degree at an accredited university and have completed an internship providing a minimum of 900 hours of supervised practice. Then the RD must pass an examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) and participate in
