Nutrition and Dietetics

Nutrition and dietetics is the science and clinical practice of using food and nutrition to promote health, prevent disease, and treat medical conditions. Dietitians are regulated health professionals who translate nutritional science into practical advice and therapeutic intervention for individuals and population groups, working with conditions ranging from obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease to eating disorders, cancer, kidney disease, and the nutritional management of critically ill patients. The discipline draws on biochemistry, physiology, food science, psychology, and public health, and its practitioners need both scientific knowledge and the communication and interpersonal skills to support behaviour change and therapeutic relationships.

At the University of Chester, this three-year full-time programme is accredited by the British Dietetic Association and leads to eligibility for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a dietitian. You will study the science of nutrition and its role in health and disease, the physiological and biochemical basis of diet-related conditions, clinical dietetics across the life stages from infancy to old age, public health nutrition, and the communication and counselling skills needed to work effectively with diverse patient and client groups. Supervised clinical placements are an integral part of the programme, giving you experience in NHS and community dietetic services.

Registered dietitians work across the NHS in hospitals, primary care, and community settings, and also in the private sector, the food industry, sports organisations, and public health roles. Specialisms include paediatric dietetics, oncology nutrition, renal dietetics, eating disorder services, and sports and exercise nutrition. Career progression leads to specialist and consultant dietitian roles, management, education, and research.

The scientific and clinical training the degree provides is also a foundation for postgraduate study and research in nutrition, dietetics, or related health sciences.