D i e t e t i c C o m m e n t
Is there really a ‘Dark Side’ to Dietetics?
Tanya Haffner, RD RNutr, Health Writer
“Variety is the spice of life” is one of life’s great sayings and,in my view, definitely true of a career in dietetics. Personally, I have been lucky to have been involved in many aspects of dietetics from NHS work,media work, health writing and private practice through to PR and industry. Each aspect has different challenges, rewards and merits but, fundamentally, the underlying goal is the same: to promote effective and evidence based practical dietary advice, and to provide impartial advice about nutrition and health.
Now, I may just be being paranoid but, in contrast to any other area I have ever worked in, whenever I mention the word ‘industry’ to some dietitians, I get the feeling that they believe I am mixing with the ‘dark side’. What is the general perception of industry
within dietetics, and is this justified? Fundamentally, I think the main issue many health professionals have with industry is that it is financially driven. Of course this is definitely true and no one will deny this. Unfortunately, money plays a major part in everyone’s profession, whatever the environment. I can remember as a junior NHS dietitian how frustrated I was with budgetary constraints when this limited the level of service, we as dietitians, were able to provide. Admittedly, within industry there are
scrupulous and unscrupulous companies, just as there are healthy and unhealthy products. Certainly, we should all be wary of certain elements of the food industry that, in the name of profit, would be prepared to sink to any level. However, a dietitian, or any other health professional working within industry, must always adhere to their code of conduct, which includes offering impartial and evidence based advice. So many of the dietitians working within
tanya@nutrilicious.co.uk
industry that I have come across believe whole heartedly in the products that they work with. Personally, I could only work with a product that I would feel is an essential on my own weekly shopping list! Dietitians in industry do have a very
important and varied role to play. They may be involved in ensuring product labelling is correct, and that compliance with any nutrition legislation is maintained. Many dietitians in industry are involved with providing incredibly useful and informative healthy eating resources for consumers who may never otherwise come across a dietitian or any other literature on this subject. Industry dietitians can also provide educational resources to other health professionals, as well as working with academics on research projects. Crucially, dietitians can provide industry with the latest scientific information ensuring companies are kept up to date and products are nutritionally optimised. The two major roles of a dietitian should be that of an educator and to be influential. This should be the same whether working as a clinical based dietitian or within PR or industry. Obviously, trying to persuade a commercial director or marketer to include healthier ingredients in a product or communicate its
health benefits in an entirely different way, despite cost implications, may involve a different tact to encouraging a patient to make healthy lifestyle changes. However, with passion and belief, I have come to realise that we can achieve the impossible. So whilst critics may think of industry
dietitians as an ice cube dropped into a glass of water, slowly losing its own identity and merging seamlessly into the surrounding body, I would prefer to think of dietitians in industry more like a fruit cordial. Although small in volume, they have the ability to permeate and change the characteristics of a much larger volume that encompasses them. At the end of the day, I believe we all chose
our career for much the same reasons and we all have a very important role to play in society. Some may be more suited to working within the NHS and some may be more suited to working within industry or one of the other many options a career in dietetics has to offer. What is definite is that, as a profession, we can all achieve much more by working synergistically, when we all trust each other and value each other’s varied role and what we contribute.
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