Sources of nutrition information and methods to evaluate its validity

Nutritionist

Focus: promote health and wellbeing through food education

Roles: Community/public health, research, and health promotion programs

Dietian

Focus: Provide dietary treatments for medical conditions (E.g diabetes, food allergies, obesity

Key differences between nutritionists and dietitians

Nutritionist

• General advice of food and health

• broad community/public health programs

Dietitian

• Individualised dietary requirements

• Medical nutrition therapy for specific conditions

Television and nutrition information

Tv nutrition advice can be sensationalised, incomplete or biased, often given by non-experts or as paid promotions. It is important to assess its credibility

Print media and nutrition articles

Magazine nutrition content varies in reliability. Always check the authors credentials, study size, and references. Avoid being misled by headlines - read the full article for context

Internet and apps for nutrition information

Online nutrition tools offer convenience, but reliability varies - use advice from qualified professionals and trust verified sources like .org .edu .gov while critically evaluating all information.

The R.E.A.L strategy

R: Read the URL – Non-commercial sites (.org, .edu, .gov) are generally reliable. Avoid relying on .com sites selling products.

E: Examine the content – Check the author, publisher, funding, and if the information is up-to-date.

A: Ask about the author – Are contact details available?

L: Look at links – Do linked sources have credible URLs (.gov, .edu, .org)?