Do you want to improve your diet in order to prevent chronic illness or treat medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, obesity and more? Our Dietitians and Nutritionist at OnePointHealth are here to guide and inspire you to build nutritionally healthy lifestyles and help you achieve a healthier lifestyle through food.
What is a dietitian?
An Accredited Practising Dietitian is qualified to treat a range of health conditions. They understand how nutrition affects the body and will give you expert nutrition and dietary advice. Dietitians will provide you with personal support to help you improve your health and wellbeing.
Not only do they treat medical and health conditions, but they also help patients reach their health or fitness goals, such as increasing muscle mass, assisting in weight loss, improving energy levels and the nutritional status of vegetarians or vegans.
All our dietitians have obtained the Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) credential, meaning they have committed to ongoing training and education throughout their careers and they adhere to the Dietitian Australias code of conduct. They also have the knowledge and skills found in the National Competency Standards for Dietitians.
Why see one of our dietitians?
Food plays a major role in our physical and mental health and our dietitians and nutritionists understand the mechanisms of how nutrition impacts your bodily functions and they use this knowledge to provide evidence-based, practical, simple and clear advice as well as nutritional counselling.
If you want to fuel your body adequately and improve your quality of life, then seeing one our Dietitians will enable you to feel and look better as well as prevent further health complications down the track.
There is no “one size fits all” and therefore our dietitians provide personalised nutrition plans and customised advice and recommendations that are tailored to each individual’s goals and health needs.
What does a typical dietitian consult look like?
Have you ever wondered what it is like to see a Dietitian? Well, each appointment is different depending on the individual and it often takes multiple appointments with our Dietitians to ensure successful results and progress.
The overall structure of the appointment can involve our dietitians getting to know you by collecting background information, such as your medical (including previous blood test results), social and personal history. Your personal and/or medical goals and what you want to achieve is then discussed and this is often followed by a brief diet history.
Usually, education regarding specific nutrients, dietary habits or health issues are discussed with the use of resources or diagrams. This helps patients have context and an understanding of the recommendations and advice that often follows.
Our dietitians and nutritionist then work with you to find practical and sustainable strategies to change your diet in order to successfully meet your goals. They use behaviour change techniques and motivational interviewing to assist patients in feeling enabled and ready to make the necessary dietary alterations as our dietitians are aware of the complex nature of eating. They do not provide large or unachievable recommendations but rather smaller steps which are proven to be effective and are more likely to be implemented.
Telehealth is available if you are unable to come in-person or prefer to talk over the phone where our dietitians can email you any resources and tips discussed.
What is the difference between a nutritionist and a dietitian?
A dietitian is a qualified health professional that provides a range of evidence-based nutrition services, but in addition to a nutritionist, dietitians have the expertise to provide individual dietary counselling, medical nutrition therapy and group dietary therapy.
A dietitian, specifically an accredited Practicing Dietitian undertakes ongoing training and education to ensure that they are providing the most up-to-date nutrition information. A nutritionist, on the other hand, is not regulated and therefore can sometimes be unqualified.
What are the benefits of seeing a dietitian?
There is plenty of evidence demonstrating the successful use of dietitians in treating medical conditions, such as a study in 2017 which showed that Dietetic consults are effective for improving diet quality, diabetes outcomes (including blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin values), and weight loss outcomes (eg, changes in weight and waist circumference) and limiting gestational weight gain (1).
Another study found that registered dietitians are important facilitators of diet education and nutrition assessment, which are essential in Type 2 Diabetes management and should, therefore, be considered for routine inclusion in interprofessional teams for improved outcomes in older adults with Type 2 Diabetes (2).
Our approach to Dietetics?
At OnePointHealth we take pride in our dietitians implementing clinical expertise, evidence-based practice and a patient-centred approach. We value one-on-one care and the necessary ongoing guidance and constant attention to detail in order to make your health number one! Our dietitians are able to provide a holistic approach by working alongside other allied health professionals and appropriately referring you to other treatments, such as our exercise physiologists who can provide an exercise program to assist with your weight loss journey.
