Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) are food and nutrition experts. They assess a person’s health and nutritional needs and come up with plans to meet those needs. RDNs are trained to help you with a variety of food, nutrition, and health needs. These include:

• Helping you lose or gain weight

• Finding foods that help ease swallowing

• Coming up with special diets for certain conditions, such as celiac disease, food allergies, gout, or digestive problems

• Understanding dietary changes that need to be made because of a disability

• Helping with tube feeding formulas and schedules for people who can’t swallow

• Teaching people and their families about nutrition topics linked to diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease

• Helping a person overcome an eating disorder

• Finding foods to help improve athletic performance

• Teaching you how to plan and prepare healthy meals

• Helping you get ready for or adjust to eating after having weight-loss (bariatric) surgery

• Teaching parents about child nutrition

• Teaching about good nutrition before, during, and after pregnancy

RDNs practice in many different settings. These include:

• Hospitals

• Inpatient rehab (rehabilitation) centers

• Home health settings

• Private practice and consulting

• School districts and universities

• Community or government nutrition programs

• Fitness centers

• Culinary schools and restaurants

• Media, communications, social media, and food marketing

• Grocery stores

RDNs hold an undergraduate degree, have completed an approved internship program, and have passed a national exam to be credentialed as registered dietitian nutritionists. Many have also earned a master's degree in dietetics or nutrition science. RDNs must complete ongoing professional educational requirements to maintain registration.