Dietitians

Employment of dietitians and nutritionists will grow by 7 percent, faster than the average for all careers, through 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Dietitians continue to be needed to provide guidance on healthy diets. Employment growth of dietitians is also expected to continue because of the public's increasing awareness of the importance of nutrition. Another is the fact that the average age of the population is increasing rapidly, which will bring about a growing need for nutritional counseling and planning in hospitals, residential care facilities, schools, prisons, community health programs, and home health care agencies. A third factor is that obesity in America continues to rise, from 31 percent of U.S. adults obese in 2000, to nearly 42 percent of U.S. adults obese in 2023, according to the Trust for America's Health. This is prompting growing demand for dietitians to help obese people live healthier lives.

Opportunities will be excellent for dietitians who work for social assistance organizations that provide services to the elderly and people with disabilities (+26.7 percent from 2023 through 2033), in outpatient care centers (+20.6 percent), in food manufacturing (+14.7 percent), and for scientific research and development services firms (+11.1 percent). Workers who are employed in hospitals and nursing homes that hire contractors to handle food-service operations will have less promising employment prospects. In addition, growth may be curbed somewhat by some insurance companies' unwillingness to cover the cost of nutritional therapy fees, making the services of dietitians unaffordable for some people.