21 June 2022
Dietitians’ Week 2022 is recognised by the British Dietetic Association between Monday, 20, and Friday, 24 June. The week aims to raise the voice and visibility of dietitians with the slogan ‘Know your worth, show your worth’ to celebrate the impact and value of Dietitians.
Many of you already know a dietitian can help with weight management and healthy eating advice, but did you know there were 9,738 registered dietitians in the UK in 2019 working in different job roles?
Dietitians work with healthy and sick people in a variety of settings and at every stage of life from children to older people. Dietitians can work in the food industry, workplace, catering, education, sport and the media. Other care pathways they work in include mental health, learning disabilities, community, acute settings and public health.
Reasons to see a dietitian
A Dietitian can help with the following if:
- you suffer with digestive problems
- you have been diagnosed with a medical condition, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, coeliac, HIV etc
- you have oral, enteral or parenteral nutrition requirements
- your child, or child in your care, has specialised nutritional requirements
- you are wanting or needing to lose weight in a safe and sensible way
- you need to put weight on following a spell of ill-health or as the result of a medical condition
- you want to improve your athletic performance or general fitness levels
- you want advice about breastfeeding and weaning
- you think you have an allergy or intolerance to a certain food
- you would like advice about eating disorders
- you are a carer and want credible and practical advice to ensure the person/s you are caring for is/are getting the appropriate nutrition in their diet/s.
Dietitians are the only qualified and regulated health professionals with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) that assess, diagnose and treat diet and nutritional problems for both individuals and the wider public.
To celebrate Dietitians’ Week the local Dietitian, Sarah, has set up a display in St John’s Villa waiting room about ‘What dietitians do and more information about healthy eating’. Why not pop in and take a look? If you are interested in attending a Healthy Eating Talk send an email to Sarah.Mattinson@sainthelena.gov.sh or tel: 22500.
Sarah Mattinson
Dietitian
Health Services Directorate
21 June 2022