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Happy Dietitians Week! 🔮

We're keen to hear what you think the future of dietetics looks like. What are your predictions? What do you hope to see?

Share your thoughts with us here!

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Dietitians Week Logo 2025 _white background

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I’m planning to go into research and find out the secrets behind the real Med diet, so that we can apply the principles in any cultural diet!

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#WhatDietitiansDo will be common knowledge! 🔮

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#WhatDietitiansDo will be common knowledge! 🔮

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Dietitians and dietetic professionals will be the public's first thought for trusted nutrition advice! ✅ #TrustaDietitian

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Join us @RDUKChat (Mon 2nd June 8pm) as we host our annual ‘X’ Chat with our friends @BDA_Dietitians for #DW2025 🥳 Monday’s theme “What’s in your your crystal ball 🔮? ” is guaranteed to be lively & thought provoking, simply search #RDUK & share your predictions for our amazing profession 🎓 Our Qs are https://www.bda.uk.com/membership/benefits/rduk/past-chats.html

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Here's a list of all our past chats. You can look back at the chats in full here.

2 June 2025: Dietitians Week - The future of dietetics

June 2024: Dietitians Week - A career in dietetics

June 2023 Dietitians Week - The Faces of Dietetics

October 2022: Diet and the gut microbiome

Catch up on what we discussed here: #GutMicrobiome

June 2022: Dietitians Week - Working With Brands

Catch up on what we discussed here: #WorkingWithBrands

March 2022: Healthy Hydration

Catch up on what we discussed here: #HealthyHydration

January 2022: Plant-rich Eating

1. What are the key health benefits of eating a more plant-rich diet?

2. Is there a need for more prescriptive guidance on what a plant-rich diet entails?#Can some plant-derived foods have a greater impact on gut health or heart health?

3. How can meat-eaters be nudged to a more plant-rich diet?

4. Is there a place for plant-rich processed foods in our diets?

Catch up on what we discussed here: #Plant-Rich Eating

June 2021: Processed Foods

Catch up on what we discussed here: #ProcessedFood

April 2021: Living Better with IBS

Catch up on what we discussed here: #IBSDiet

January 2021: Vegan diets

Catch up on what we discussed here: #VeganDiet

November 2020: Immunity

Catch up on what we discussed after the chat: #Immunity

October 2020: Cholesterol Lowering

This chat on #dietandcholesterol was kindly supported by Flora ProActiv.

Catch up on what we discussed here: ##DietAndCholesterol

September 2020: At Home & Healthy

March 2020: World Kidney Day

October 2019: Nut Power

June 2019: #WhatDietitiansDo

Catch up on what we discussed here: #WhatDietitiansDo

May 2019: Healthy Snacking

This chat was kindly supported by Almond Board of California. The special guest was Juliette Kellow RD @juliettekellow

Catch up on what we discussed here: #HealthySnacking

March 2019: Malnutrition

This chat was kindly supported by Abbott UK.

Catch up on what we discussed here: #Malnutrition

January 2019: Plant Based Eating

Our special guest joining this #RDUK chat was @VegPowerUK

Catch up on what we discussed here: #Plantbased

September 2018: Cancer Prevention

Catch up on what we discussed here: #PreventCancer

June 2018: Dietitians Do Prevention

Catch up on what we discussed here: #DietitiansDoPrevention

January 2018: Veganuary

Our guest tweeter is Dr Linia Patel RD.

November 2017: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Our guest tweeter was Lucy Jones RD. This chat was kindly supported by the Almond Board of California.

Catch up on what we discussed here: Heart Health and Cholesterol

September 2017: Meat Advice

Catch up on what we discussed here: Meat Advice

This chat was kindly supported by The Meat Advisory Panel.

August 2017: Plant Power

Catch up on what we discussed here: Plant Power

June 2017: Dietitians Week 'Nutrition Truths vs Fads' Chat

Read what we discussed here: Nutrition Truths vs. Fads

May 2017: Summer Eating

Read what we discussed here: Summer Eating

February 2017: Nutrition Research

1. What was the last nutrition related paper to interest/impress/inspire you?

2. What top tips would you share for critiquing a research paper?

3. How can RDs & RNuts learn from each other and share their innovative practice?

4. What useful research related awards, grants, websites, apps, study days can we share?

5. Which nutrition related strategy docs, policies, briefing papers & guidelines have caught yr attention recently & why?

Read what we discussed here: Nutrition Research

December 2016: Alcohol Awareness

Our special guest for this was @AmandaUrsell, a nutritionist with over 25 years of experience of working in the area of nutrition. She is also the winner of the HFMA Health Writer of The Year award and twice voted the most influential health professional in the UK.

Read what we discussed here: Alcohol Awareness

This chat was kindly supported by Diageo.

November 2016: Probiotics

Our special guest will be Professor Kevin Whelan from King's College, London. Prof Whelan's area of research interest is the interaction between the gastrointestinal microbiota, dietary composition and health and disease. Kevin performs clinical trials in probiotics, prebiotics, fibre and fermentable carbohydrates, with molecular microbiology to measure their impact on the microbiota.

Read what we discussed here: Probiotics

This chat was kindly supported by Symprove.

September 2016: Back to School

Read what we discussed here: School Food

June 2016: Dietitians Week Food & Mood Chat

Read what we discussed here: Food & Mood

May 2016: Soya foods: are there still controversies?

Read what we discussed here: Soya foods: are there still controversies?

This chat was kindly supported by Alpro.

April 2016: Mindful Eating

Read what we discussed here: Mindful Eating

March 2016: Hydration

Read what we discussed here: Hydration

December 2015: Food as Medicine

We were joined by special guest Amanda Archibald (@FieldtoPlate) from the United States.

Read what we discussed here: Food As Medicine

November 2015: Red Meat: what are the facts?

Read what we discussed here: Red Meat Chat

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Look back at past topics and questions for RDUK chats.

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We want to help to ease the barriers to volunteering, so it's easier for members to get involved and be actively encouraged by their employers

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Not a dietitian but an SENR member. I think that research in genetics testing for health and fitness will continue to grow.

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I see AI entering the NHS with a force, which will drastically reduce the administrative burden of caseloads. This will see a dietitian being able to see more patients at a time, and have less need for workforce. Dietitians are also becoming deskilled by technology.

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https://gamma.app/docs/Whats-in-your-crystal-ball-Dietitians-week-6jagazzwgbrw3d7?follow_on_start=true&following_id=6xky8xraraq6n9z

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Nutrition misinformation & collaboration 

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Nutrition misinformation & collaboration 

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I hope to see less nutrition misinformation online and more regulation in the UK around who can provide nutrition advice. However, I’d hope to also see more of various nutrition/dietetics professionals working together.

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Publishing multi-centre outcomes data will be the norm for all dietitians. AI and greater digital integration will be commonplace, dietitians will continue to focus on evidence-based, person-centred care for optimal outcomes.

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Dietitians will be known throughout for their clinical expertise in diseases and scientific knowledge, not feared as the food police or just people that put you on a diet.

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This is what copilot thinks....

I agree with: more men, more diversity in general, and heaps of tech.

Never mind AI, SAI (Super AI) will be here, AI will be able to match any human task in 5-10 years, will in fact probably be smarter than humans by then too. Therefore we need to start innovating now.

They'll be less traditional dietitians in the NHS, the role will be more blended with AHPs, so that they can be used flexibly and all about prevention, and laser focused disease support through nutrition.

We'll be working with amazing scientists to help with food production, food fortification, supplementation, all the ways to make food production more efficient and better for planet and better for consumers. Looking forward to it. (Belinda Mortell)

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As someone who’s spent almost a decade working in the medical nutrition industry I often wonder what’s next. Sometimes the what next can be slow, already known or spring out of nowhere. Irrespective of how changes shows up, innovation is vital. Science, regulation, clinical practice and patient reality all have to align.

I’ve looked into my crystal ball and here’s 3 (predictions) from me:

⸻

🔬 1. New hero ingredients.

Long established in sports nutrition, creatine is backed by strong data in athletic and non-athletic settings: cognitive function, muscle strength, recovery, fatigue. Think: falls, fractures, frailty, sarcopenia, real clinical priorities that need solutions. Could we soon see creatine included in oral nutritional supplements, tube feeds, or disease-specific regimens? The science is there and continues to build, could it be time for industry to respond?

⸻

🧩 2. Personalised Nutrition Goes Modular

Dietitians already tailor regimens and modular supplements already exist but could we see more of these products allowing for a stackable approach allowing for more personalisation based on physiological needs, diagnosis, and goals.

The key challenge? Making complexity simple enough to prescribe and deliver.

⸻

🤖 3. AI-Supported Practice

Are we close to a tipping point where AI can support (not replace!) clinical dietitians. We are seeing AI support diagnosis’s and early detection but could the role out capture dietetics in anyway?

• Diet analysis

• product selection

• Predictive analytics

• Regimen planning

⸻

Innovation and change in any industry doesn’t happen overnight. Science must lead, and acceptance takes time. We must combine evidence with empathy while staying curious about what’s possible.

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That Motivational Interviewing will be a core component in all dietetic training and practice

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That Motivational Interviewing will be a core component in all dietetic training and practice

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Effective communication is essential in our role - with service users, families, carers, in teams...Most dietetic training provides a theoretical overview of Motivational Interviewing yet it is left to dietitians to source their own training. What if MI was a core component of training over the whole of the course? Imagine how skilled the profession would be if this was the case

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Summary

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is often recommended as an evidence-based approach to behavior change. However, definitions of MI vary widely, including out of date and inaccurate understandings. This document provides a brief summary of what MI is, what is isn't and where to go next if you are interested in learning more about this approach.

What is Motivational Interviewing?

"MI is a collaborative, goal-oriented style of communication with particular attention to the language of change. It is designed to strengthen personal motivation for and commitment to a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person's own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion." (Miller & Rollnick, 2013, p. 29)

The most current version of MI is described in detail in Miller and Rollnick (2013) Motivational Interviewing: Helping people to change (3rd edition). Key qualities include:

MI is a guiding style of communication, that sits between following (good listening) and directing (giving information and advice).

MI is designed to empower people to change by drawing out their own meaning, importance and capacity for change.

MI is based on a respectful and curious way of being with people that facilitates the natural process of change and honors client autonomy.

It is important to note that MI requires the clinician to engage with the client as an equal partner and refrain from unsolicited advice, confronting, instructing, directing, or warning. It is not a way to "get people to change" or a set of techniques to impose on the conversation. MI takes time, practice and requires self-awareness and discipline from the clinician. (Miller & Rollnick, 2009)

While the principles and skills of MI are useful in a wide range of conversations, MI is particularly useful to help people examine their situation and options when any of the following are present:

Ambivalence is high and people are stuck in mixed feelings about change

Confidence is low and people doubt their abilities to change

Desire is low and people are uncertain about whether they want to make a change

Importance is low and the benefits of change and disadvantages of the current situation are unclear.

Core elements of Motivational Interviewing

MI is practiced with an underlying spirit or way of being with people:

Partnership. MI is a collaborative process. The MI practitioner is an expert in helping people change; people are the experts of their own lives.

Evocation. People have within themselves resources and skills needed for change. MI draws out the person's priorities, values, and wisdom to explore reasons for change and support success.

Acceptance. The MI practitioner takes a nonjudgmental stance, seeks to understand the person's perspectives and experiences, expresses empathy, highlights strengths, and respects a person's right to make informed choices about changing or not changing.

Compassion. The MI practitioner actively promotes and prioritizes clients' welfare and wellbeing in a selfless manner.

MI has core skills of OARS, attending to the language of change and the artful exchange of information:

Open questions draw out and explore the person's experiences, perspectives, and ideas. Evocative questions guide the client to reflect on how change may be meaningful or possible. Information is often offered within a structure of open questions (Elicit-Provide-Elicit) that first explores what the person already knows, then seeks permission to offer what the practitioner knows and then explores the person's response.

Affirmation of strengths, efforts, and past successes help to build the person's hope and confidence in their ability to change.

Reflections are based on careful listening and trying to understand what the person is saying, by repeating, rephrasing or offering a deeper guess about what the person is trying to communicate. This is a foundational skill of MI and how we express empathy.

Summarizing ensures shared understanding and reinforces key points made by the client.

Attending to the language of change identifies what is being said against change (sustain talk) and in favor of change (change talk) and, where appropriate, encouraging a movement away from sustain talk toward change talk.

Exchange of information respects that both the clinician and client have expertise. Sharing information is considered a two way street and needs to be responsive to what the client is saying.

MI has four fundamental processes. These processes describe the "flow" of the conversation although we may move back and forth among processes as needed:

Engaging: This is the foundation of MI. The goal is to establish a productive working relationship through careful listening to understand and accurately reflect the person's experience and perspective while affirming strengths and supporting autonomy.

Focusing: In this process an agenda is negotiated that draws on both the client and practitioner expertise to agree on a shared purpose, which gives the clinician permission to move into a directional conversation about change.

Evoking: In this process the clinician gently explores and helps the person to build their own "why" of change through eliciting the client's ideas and motivations. Ambivalence is normalized, explored without judgement and, as a result, may be resolved. This process requires skillful attention to the person's talk about change.

Planning: Planning explores the "how" of change where the MI practitioner supports the person to consolidate commitment to change and develop a plan based on the person's own insights and expertise. This process is optional and may not be required, but if it is the timing and readiness of the client for planning is important.

MI is framed as a method of communication rather than an intervention, sometimes used on its own or combined with other treatment approaches. There are a number of benefits of learning MI amongst other approaches to helping conversations:

MI has been applied across a broad range of settings (e.g. health, corrections, human services, education), populations (e.g. age, ethnicity, religion, sexuality and gender identities), languages, treatment format (e.g. individual, group, telemedicine) and presenting concerns (e.g. health, fitness, nutrition, risky sex, treatment adherence, medication adherence, substance use, mental health, illegal behaviors, gambling, parenting).

MI compares well to other evidence-based approaches in formal research studies.

MI is compatible with the values of many disciplines and evidence-based approaches.

Although the full framework is a complex skill set that require time and practice, the principles of MI have intuitive or "common sense" appeal and core elements of MI can be readily applied in practice as the clinician learns the approach.

MI has observable practice behaviors that allow clinicians to receive clear and objective feedback from a trainer, consultant or supervisor.

Further questions

What are some ways MI could be helpful in your work?

What are some reasons you might want to learn more about MI?

What might be a next step or two? If you are interested in learning more about MI, you might consider reading the next document in the series: Learning Motivational Interviewing or the core text by Miller and Rollnick (2013).

References

Miller, W.R. & T.B. Moyers (2017) Motivational Interviewing and the clinical science of Carl Rogers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(8), 757-766

Miller, W.R. & Rollnick, S. (2013) Motivational Interviewing: Helping people to change (3rd Edition). Guilford Press.

Miller & Rollnick (2017) Ten things MI is not Miller, W.R. & Rollnick, S. (2009) Ten things that MI is not. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37, 129-140.

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Motivational Interviewing (MI) is often recommended as an evidence-based approach to behavior change. However, definitions of MI vary widely, including out of date and inaccurate understandings. This document provides a brief summary of what MI is, what is isn't and where to go next if you are interested in learning more about this approach.

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Dietitians will be the leaders in healthcare and policymakers. They will not just build health but build flourishing communities. This will be with the help of technological progress much of which is booming now.

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All people in roles managing teams will have been leadership,AI and social media trained! 💪

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Dietitians supporting Home Health Testing

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Dietitians supporting Home Health Testing

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Dietitians will evolve from generalized meal planning to become personalized nutrition specialists, interpreting complex biomarker data from home tests. They’ll analyze real-time results showing nutrient deficiencies, metabolic markers, and genetic predispositions to create highly targeted dietary interventions.

Rather than replacing dietitians, home testing will elevate their role. They’ll work with precise data - vitamin levels, inflammatory markers, microbiome profiles, and food sensitivity results - to design evidence-based nutrition plans that adjust in real-time as home test results change.

Dietitians will also serve as crucial interpreters, helping patients understand what their test results mean and how to act on AI-generated recommendations. They’ll provide the human element that technology cannot - motivational support, behavior change strategies, and personalized counseling that considers lifestyle, preferences, and cultural factors.

This technology-enhanced approach will allow dietitians to demonstrate measurable outcomes, track client progress with objective data, and prove the effectiveness of their interventions - potentially expanding their role in clinical settings and insurance coverage.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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New government legislation will mandate annual health screenings at dietitian-led community wellness centers, similar to Japan’s preventive care model. These mandatory yearly checks will shift healthcare policy from treating illness to preventing disease through early intervention.

Dietitians will lead these government-funded centers, conducting comprehensive health assessments and immediately translating results into personalized nutrition plans. The legislation will recognize nutrition as primary healthcare, positioning dietitians as essential providers rather than supplementary consultants.

Annual screenings will integrate with home testing technologies, creating continuous health monitoring between mandatory visits. Dietitians will track population health data, identifying trends and adjusting public health nutrition guidelines based on real-time community biomarker patterns.

This legislative approach will establish dietitians as primary healthcare gatekeepers, with authority to prescribe nutritional interventions and refer to medical specialists when needed. The mandate will drive down healthcare costs by preventing chronic diseases through dietary changes before expensive medical treatments become necessary.

Government investment in prevention through nutrition will fundamentally restructure healthcare delivery, making wellness maintenance a civic responsibility while establishing dietitians as central figures in public health policy.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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I am just starting my career and I am excited to gain more knowledge and experience. I have an interest in sports and would love to build my clinical knowledge more. I want to publish more research and work with athletes from all levels while supporting their performance and recoveries from medical conditions.

My crystall ball;

1. I would like the public to trust professionals who deliver evidence-based advice.

2. A comfortable discussion on weight management

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The impact and long term side effects of GLP1 medications and the new wave of weight loss drugs to come

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I envision a future where dietitians take on a more prominent, leading role within multidisciplinary teams, recognized not just for supporting health, but for shaping it. With growing awareness of the critical link between nutrition and overall well-being, I believe the profession will gain broader recognition and respect. This will empower the profession to drive more evidence-based interventions and influence public health on a larger scale.

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There will be a UK wide move towards more Public Health Dietetics work, empowering individuals to make choices to influence their health.

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Influencing policy change and food practices in prisons

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Influencing policy change and food practices in prisons

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I hope to see dietitians support a drive for much needed improvement in food standards for our UK prisons. I hope we can pave the way for compassionate care and leadership and advocate for those who cant advocate for themselves. I hope our crystal ball provides the influence and power for prison food change through research, awareness and campaigning.

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In less than 5 years I expect that nutritionist consultation will be a must in preventive healthcare so we will parter up with all medical practitioners in order to improve the wellbeing of the patients

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I would love the opportunity to Advance my Practice, to be given the chance to improve study and use the skills I have and learn new practical skills.

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I hope with the advent of new medicines for obesity we will also be able to develop better treatments for malnutrition also. We don't put enough focus on malnutrition still and this needs to improve.

I also hope for even greater team-working with physios and exercise specialist in order to combat sarcopenia and age related function decline.

A move away from BMI and towards greater focus on strength and healthy ageing

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"I would love to see us positioned at the forefront of obesity strategies and services, recognised as the leading experts in nutrition. This would allow us to showcase our advanced capabilities in behaviour change, nutrition counselling, and functional nutrition. Additionally, having the opportunity to prescribe GLP-1s would create a more comprehensive and effective service.

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I think there will be a lot more dietetic prescribers

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Dietitians as leaders of nutrition knowledge and nutrition education

I hope to see dietitians routinely involved in nutrition education for other health professionals including doctors, nurses and midwives

Following in Japan’s footsteps we will have many more dietitians (may be not quite a million!) involved in all aspects of life including schools, community centres and workplaces

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Ensure that students only get genuine clinical experience with actual RDs. Too many universities are offering 'made-up" placements. Students are paying for this!

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3 year courses for non-clinical and 4 year for clinical/ advanced practice. Give students real choices. Too many courses are not fit for purpose (3 year courses do not provide enough medical training to equip them to be effective in acute roles). Makes it hard to train them on the job.

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RDs will be prescribing GLP-1s and providing proper support and management to patients. BDA needs to urgently start training us on these meds. Our patients are using them and coming into hospital with complications!