Discipline Description:

Nutrition professionals in public health are either Public Health Dietitians or Public Health Nutritionists. All public health nutrition professionals are registered dietitians (RD) who apply a nutrition lens to all aspects of health promotion and health protection. These specialized, regulated professionals are involved in a variety of essential activities, including:

· Assessing the nutrition-related needs of the community

· Participating in policy development

· Developing and managing nutrition programs

· Collaborating with and providing nutrition consultation to public health staff and community partners

· Advocating for accessibility to healthy, affordable, safe foods and for other nutrition-related issues

· Conducting research and evaluation to further nutrition knowledge and practice

· Building community capacity

To learn more about the work of public health nutrition professionals in Ontario, visit the Ontario Dietitians in Public Health website.

Education Requirement:

To practice as a registered dietitian in Ontario, individuals must meet the entrance requirements and on-going quality assurance requirements of the College of Dietitians of Ontario. Entrance requirements include: completion of an accredited university degree and internship program plus successful completion of a standardized entrance exam. In public health, Master’s trained registered dietitians are legislated by the Health Promotion and Protection Act. These nutrition professionals have enhanced critical thinking abilities, research skills, and capacity to plan, evaluate, and fulfill public health functions such as: population health assessment, health surveillance, and disease prevention. For more information on how to become a registered dietitian, visit Dietitians of Canada.

Schools

The following institutions offer undergraduate programs that are accredited by Dietitians of Canada:

BRITISH COLUMBIA

University of British Columbia

ALBERTA

University of Alberta

SASKATCHEWAN

University of Saskatchewan

MANITOBA

University of Manitoba

ONTARIO

Brescia University College(affiliated with The University of Western Ontario)

University of Guelph

Ryerson University

Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa

QUEBEC

McGill University

Université de Montréal

Université Laval

NEW BRUNSWICK

Université de Moncton

NOVA SCOTIA

Mount Saint Vincent University

St. Francis Xavier University

Acadia University

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

University of Prince Edward Island

This information was provided by the Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO). To the best of our knowledge, it is current as of April 2020. For more information about public health nutrition, please contact Ontario Dietitians in Public Health.