@SQUEEKY2 My best guess is that a dietitian is working with people, marginalized and not, and helping them have better diets; while a nutritionist is pure research into diet and health to inform the dietitian for the nutritional guidelines, to inform the masses.

This might explain it better than I can. A dietician is a nutritionalist with additional training!!! It similar to the difference between a doctor & an intern.

@LadyMarissa Thanks for the link. I had it reversed.

^ I did too. While trying to explain it, I decided I might need to verify that I understood what I was saying…good thing I did!!! :]

Dietician is an actual title, requiring actual qualification.
Anyone can call themselves a “nutritionist”.
It is like the difference between a doctorate and calling yourself a “scholar”.

@ragingloli Thanks.

Ragi is correct. I am married to a dietitian. They go through rigorous training, have a degree, do an internship, and have a certification. They have to keep up their certification by continuing education. They are experts in both outpatient nutrition and inpatient nutrition (my wife, retired, was an outpatient expert in prenatal nutrition. I work with inpatient dietitians who are experts in artificial nutrition).

If you call a dietitian a “nutritionist” they will get really annoyed because nutritionist is anybody who fancies themselves an expert and gives themselves a label.

The fee.

@elbanditoroso That is incorrect.