What is a Registered Dietitian?

Anyone can call themselves a "nutritionist" even without formal qualifications or experience. Someone who only calls themselves a nutritionist may be practicing without any formal education or any governing body to hold them accountable.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RD/RDN) are nutrition experts and health care providers who have met (at minimum) the following criteria:

• Completed at least a bachelor’s degree at an accredited university 

  
  

• Completed an 8-12 month accredited supervised practice program.

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• Passed a national exam administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) and maintained active registration status

  
  

• Regularly complete ethical and professional continuing educational requirements to maintain certification