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Nutritionists

Outlook

Employment of nutritionists will grow much by 8 percent, much faster than the average for all careers, through 2029, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has caused diet and nutrition specialists to focus even more attention on safe and nutritious food for people, particularly to maintain health and to help those in recovery from the virus. Employment growth of nutritionists is also expected to continue because of the public's increasing awareness of the importance of nutrition. Also of note is 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 more than 42 percent of U.S. adults obese in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nutritionists will continue to be needed to help provide guidance on healthy nutrition to reduce obesity.

Opportunities will be excellent for nutritionists who work for contract providers of food services, in outpatient care centers, for social assistance organizations that provide services to the elderly and people with disabilities, and in offices of physicians and other health care professionals. Nutritionists who have advanced degrees and certification in specialty areas of nutrition will have better job prospects.

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