Nutrition Professionals' Dietary Habits and Alignment with Professional Advice: A Survey of Dietitians and Nutritionists
Nutrition Professionals' Dietary Habits and Alignment with Professional Advice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54393/df.v7i01.219Keywords:
Dietitians, Nutritionists, Feeding Behavior, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Diet, HealthyAbstract
Dietitians and nutritionists are trusted messengers of dietary guidance, yet whether their personal eating behaviors mirror the recommendations they deliver to clients remains insufficiently documented, particularly outside high-income settings. Objectives: To describe the self-reported dietary habits of practicing dietitians and nutritionists and to determine how consistently their professional nutrition knowledge translates into personal dietary practice. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 70 practicing dietitians and nutritionists recruited through professional networks using non-probability convenience sampling. A structured, self-administered online questionnaire captured sociodemographic and professional characteristics alongside (maximum achievable score: 36; theoretical maximum with all items at 4 points: 44, but after reverse-scoring selected items, the maximum achievable score was 36) and a 3-item Practice Score (maximum achievable score: 14; theoretical maximum: 15, but one item used a 3-point scale reducing the maximum to 14). Results: The mean Dietary Habit Score was 25.94 ± 2.95 and the mean Practice Score was 9.94 ± 1.61. Although 71.4% rated their overall dietary habits as good or very good, only 17.1% reported that their diet was “completely” consistent with the advice they give clients, and workload (24.3%) and lack of time (21.4%) were the most-cited barriers. Dietary Habit Score varied significantly by qualification level (p=0.047) but not by gender, experience, or work setting. The correlation between the two composite scores was weak and non-significant (r=−0.227, p=0.059). Conclusion: Nutrition professionals possess strong dietary knowledge but only partially practice what they preach, underscoring the need for workplace-level support to close this knowledge–practice gap.
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