YOUR SCOPE OF PRACTICE (Page 12)

Trainers are often asked by their clients to talk about exercise, nutrition, supplements, and more, yet they’re often unsure of what they should and shouldn’t talk about. As a qualified trainer, you likely possess a fundamental knowledge of human anatomy and physiology. And given your choice of profession, you’ve likely committed yourself to doing what you can to help clients improve their health, body composition, and performance. Your experience tells you that nutrition and training go hand-in-hand and that results come only when both are improved. So I have no doubt that you want to talk about both areas with your clients. However, it’s possible that employers, dietitians, and other health-care practitioners have discouraged you from discussing nutrition as it relates to your clients’ goals. Perhaps you’ve even been told that it’s illegal to talk about nutrition with clients. Well, that’s not exactly the case.

Although each state and province in North America has different rules for dispensing nutrition advice, in most states it’s well within the scope of practice for personal trainers who possess fundamental nutrition knowledge to address questions and concerns their clients may have. Notice I emphasize the “fundamental knowledge” part. With specific training, such as that provided in this course, you’ll possess that knowledge and be better able to discuss nutrition with clients.

Of course, it is true that the domain of the personal trainer is limited with respect to nutrition. Technically, in many North American states and provinces, anyone can make general nutritional suggestions. However offering Medical Nutrition Therapy (i.e., prescribing nutrition for a variety of health conditions and illnesses) is another story.

Medical Nutrition Therapy: Nutritional advice with the purpose of treating a variety of conditions and illnesses. Providing MNT is the exclusive domain of trained and licenses nutrition professionals.

For example, certain states have statutes that include an explicitly defined scope of practice. In these states, performance of the profession (Medical Nutrition Therapy) is illegal without first obtaining the dietitian credential

Many states have regulations that govern nutritional counseling. Familiarize yourself with the statutes in your state.

and then applying for a license from the state.

These states include: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

It should be noted that in these states it’s perfectly legal for you to make nutritional suggestions for healthy, active individuals. It’s also legal for anyone to share nutrition education through materials that originate from a public or well-know entity such as the American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Nutrition, the ISSA, etc. It’s only illegal to prescribe nutrition for medical conditions unless you’re a licensed dietitian.

Others states have statutes that limit the use of titles such as “licensed dietitian,” “certified dietitian,” or “certified nutritionist.” Yet these states do not necessarily limit the practice of making nutritional prescriptions. These states include: Connecticut, Deleware, Hawaii, Indiana, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. In these states the laws are more liberal, allowing for those without dietetics licensure to offer specific nutrition recommendations as long as they’re certified in nutrition and registered with the state as certified.

In analyzing these definitions, the differences between “general nutritional suggestions” and Medical Nutrition Therapy aren’t always apparent. After all, what’s the difference between a co-worker giving some general tips on weight loss for cholesterol reduction and a personal trainer giving the same tips in between sets of squats?