# Are doctors at odds with dietitians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 6, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184 "2013-09-06T16:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/21 "2013-09-12T23:07:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Stranger** : > > Every junior high/high school curricula I have ever seen included a mandatory health class, which includes as least some cursory coverage of nutrition. Physicians go to high school, don’t they? They get the same nutrition classes everyone else does, and then they go on to get more training some time in med school. So it’s true that a physician would get more training in nutrition than a layperson (though still far less than someone specialized in the field, of course). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/22 "2013-09-12T23:16:39Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I don’t know what education doctors have, but I’d take anything a dietician says with a grain of salt. (Hah! Pun intended.) > > For a while in college, I taught the computer section of a class for nutrition majors, most of them seniors at that time. The class was how to communicate nutrition information, so they did things like design flyers and web sites. > > What still makes my jaw hit the table is the fact that none of these people knew the first thing about science. They’d take a study that concludes “Asians have less heart disease” and then write a flyer about how eating rice and drinking green tea is heart-healthy. Nobody ever taught them that correlation does not prove causation. No one ever taught them the difference between statistical confidence levels, controlled experiments vs case studies or “these results merit further study” vs “these results are now peer-reviewed scientific fact.” Dieticians =/= Nutritionists. Dieticians have minimum educational standards with quite a bit of science, have clinical or internship experience, and must pass a nationwide exam, do continuing education and are considered registered/licensed medical professionals. Nutritionists may have an degree or advanced degree in Nutrition, or may have taken a weekend workshop once. [Dietitian vs Nutritionist - Difference and Comparison | Diffen](http://www.diffen.com/difference/Dietitian_vs_Nutritionist) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/23 "2013-09-13T00:43:41Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > A registered dietician spends 2-3 years in school and performing internships to gain both a technical and practical understanding of how to evaluate and implement both individual and group nutrition plans with a focus on remedial and preventative nutrition. I am not contesting that someone who’s gone through years of a specialized curriculum and received an approved degree in nutrition science has a better overall knowledge of nutritional issues and practical training than most physicians, and would be better suited to drawing up meal plans and diets for people at risk/in extended care and hospital inpatient settings, and potentially in the ability to conduct nutrition-related research. The two professions are complementary. What I have refuted is this silly comment (no “putting words in your mouth”): > [@Strangers On A Train](#): > > doctors receive very little actual education about nutrition in medical school and unless they have studied in a nutrition-related specialty they have _essentially a layman’s knowledge of nutrition_.(italics added) It’s not “a layman’s knowledge” no matter how you slice it (even if you have a loose definition of “nutrition-related specialty”). There are also (in addition to classes formally labeled “nutrition”) med school courses in human physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology which touch extensively on nutrition-related subjects (including the role of lipid metabolism in cardiovascular disease and treatment/prevention related to it. And I’m not sure why you keep omitting mention of further training and experience in nutrition-related issues a physician has during residency training and practice. I submit that your knowledge of what goes into physician education is deficient. > [@Strangers On A Train](#): > > Every junior high/high school curricula I have ever seen included a mandatory health class, which includes as least some cursory coverage of nutrition. And you think that’s equivalent to what the average physician knows? :dubious::):p:D > [@Strangers On A Train](#): > > So, you are so busy trying to shove words in my mouth you can’t comprehend what a complete dipshit you are being? Maybe you should consider some of [Dr. Oz’s calming remedies](http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/natural-calming-cures) (he’s one of those people who’d agree that physicians are grossly ignorant about nutrition, particularly the nutritional woo of which he’s so fond). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/24 "2013-09-13T00:54:32Z")
Let’s compare again what I actually said in my initial post on the issue versus what you claim I said: > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > As for doctors versus dieticians: doctors receive very little actual education about nutrition in medical school and unless they have studied in a nutrition-related specialty they have essentially a layman’s knowledge of nutrition. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Still waiting to hear what deficiency disease or other ailment physicians are inflicting on their patients by not having the same amount of diet tutelage as dieticians. And no, being annoyed because your doc tells you to consume less fatty calories does not qualify as a disease. Nowhere do I say anything about “deficiency disease or other ailment physicians are inflicting on their patients”, so you can stop fucking lying your fucking ass off about it and take your idiotic pendantism about whether twenty hours of training makes one an expert on nutrition, fold it until it is all corners, and shut the holy fuck up about it. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/25 "2013-09-13T01:09:03Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Nowhere do I say anything about “deficiency disease or other ailment physicians are inflicting on their patients”, so you can stop fucking lying your fucking ass off about it and take your idiotic pendantism about whether twenty hours of training makes one an expert on nutrition, fold it until it is all corners, and shut the holy fuck up about it. > > Stranger \ That’s too much, Stranger. You know better than that. Warning issued for accusing another poster of lying and a personal attack. \ ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/26 "2013-09-13T01:10:18Z")
In a huge generalization, as of course every course of study differs, and even within one course of study, different students may choose different electives or even different topics for papers/projects/presentations, the amount of nutrition related information required for medical professionals is: Registered Dietician\>Nurse Practitioner\>Registered Nurse\>Medical Doctor=Physician’s Assistant This should not at all be taken to mean that MDs know no more than the layperson. They absolutely do, especially about nutritional deficiencies and the impact of disease process on nutrition. But no, they don’t get a lot of practice with meal planning or nutritional counseling. Nurses get more, and dieticians get more than nurses. Maybe this will help: If a doctor prescribes, say, warfarin, he will generally tell the patient to eat a consistent amount of foods high in Vitamin K. Then a nurse will give the patient a list of foods high in Vitamin K (either from her head or a typed handout) and explain more about \*why \*the patient should eat a diet consistent in Vitamin K, and the need for regular blood testing. If the patient needs more assistance, a Registered Dietician can help her plan meals for a month with a consistent amount of Vitamin K in each week’s meals. At any of those stages, of course, you may find an individual doctor or nurse who knows enough and has enough time and patience to do the others’ job, but in Test World (that perfect, orderly place that exists only on board exams), that’s the way the job duties break down. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/27 "2013-09-13T01:13:07Z")
> [@BrokenBriton](#): > > If he was talking about weight loss, in terms of burning calories then he’s correct - a cal burnt is a cal burnt. This is the old CW, but it has more recently been called into serious doubt: > **[Health & Diet](https://www.webmd.com/diet/default.htm)** > > From healthy diet plans to helpful weight loss tools, here you'll find WebMD's latest diet news and information. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184/28 "2013-09-13T01:42:36Z")
FWIW, I’ve heard the “floating poop means you are getting enough fiber” canard from a lot of nutritionists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-at-odds-with-dietitians/668184.md?page=1)