Is Nutrition and Dietetics Marketable in Kenya? (2024)

One of those courses that can shape your life and your future is a nutrition and dietetics course. This course is not only beneficial to your clients alone it is beneficial to you as well, as there are lots of healthy living and ways of life you will learn while studying this course. Nutrition and dietetics are the science that focuses on everything related to food and its effect on our health and overall well-being. You will be taught how to improve people’s health and help them in making better dietary decisions, this can in turn help in keeping them in shape and giving them improved ways of living.

Is Nutrition and Dietetics Marketable in Kenya?

If you want to change your diet it is best you contact a nutritionist and a dietician as they are best at doing this. There are so many diets on the market but it is better you meet a dietician to help you fix one. Nutrition and Dietetics studies are growing in demand as more people need lifestyle adjustments and experts who can make sure we don’t eat just the food that only tastes good and looks good, but also the food that’s healthy for us. Healthy living is very beneficial to every human and nutritionist helps us in fixing our guts, there is a certain lifestyle that we live as humans that are not healthy for us, and this is why we all need to eat healthily and avoid certain foods that are not good for our health.

Nutrition and dietetics are not very marketable in Kenya, this is because there are few persons or even few companies who need the services of a nutritionist in Kenya and not many are ready to pay the fees that are required. Nutritionists and dieticians work with teams of other professionals to treat complicated health conditions like eating disorders, food allergies and sensitivities, diabetes, chronic fatigue, kidney failure, IBS syndrome, malnutrition, and other health problems. They work to help individuals and influence health policy to ensure the health and safety of the general population. Nutritionists and dieticians are in demand in other countries, there are so many places that one can work if you have knowledge in this field and there are so many organizations that you can work in and make a good living for yourself. Nutritionists don’t have the RD or RDN title. While they have a formal education, they do not have licensure. They study nutrients in food, and the relationship between diet, health, and disease. They often work with food manufacturers and food scientists in creating food and sharing information with the public.

There are so many fields in nutrition that one can work in, and there are so many ways that you can impact people to live a healthy lifestyle and this has been proven countless times. If you still want to go ahead to study nutrition and dietetics in Kenya there are so many ways that you can make money but you must be ready to work very hard.  This is because few companies are offering jobs and so many graduates do not have a job, you can improve yourself by getting jobs and clients through various means, once you provide value clients will be able to come your way. As a nutritionist and dietician, you can major in nutritional therapy; Nutritional therapists work in complementary medicine, typically in concert with doctors and other healthcare providers to help patients make healthy food choices. Therapists work with mental health patients suffering from eating disorders, and clinical patients suffering from digestive diseases. You can also work as a sports nutritionist, this is a way of helping athletes have the best lifestyle choices so far, they make sure they have the right food choices to eat and former and amateur athletes can stay in the game by working as a nutritionist or dietitian for a sports team, as athletes’ nutritional needs differ from those of the general population. You can study in Kenya and decide to work in countries, it all depends on what you want for yourself.

Requirements to Study Nutrition and Dietetics in Kenya

Every course in Kenya has its requirements, even if it is a short course or even a course that takes a longer duration. Some requirements are needed from you before you can apply for this course at any university in Kenya. You can study this course as a diploma course in any of the institutions offering this course in Kenya. The minimum requirement for getting a diploma in Kenya is a C – (minus) in Kenya certificate of secondary education or its equivalent. You will need a C + (plus) in chemistry, biology, English/Kiswahili C – (minus) and a D + (plus) in other subjects OR Holders of KCSE with a mean grade of C+ and a minimum of C in Biology or Biological Sciences, Chemistry or Physical Sciences, Mathematics or Physics and English or Kiswahili. You will need to have an idea of the fees that are needed to study this course.

Roles of Nutritionists and Dieticians in Kenya

• Evaluating clients’ health needs

• Discussing nutrition and eating habits with clients
• Screening patients for nutritional risk
• Developing medical nutrition therapy plans
• Discussing plans with doctors and other healthcare team members
• Developing educational resources for clients

• Determining the best nutrition plan for each client

Closing

Being a nutritionist and a dietician is very good and you are among those that are promoting healthy living in society. Their roles and functions are very needed in society and studying this course it is not marketable. There are very few companies that will be needing your services in Kenya unless you are ready to work very hard to source out for your clients, you won’t be able to make a good amount of money. You can brand yourself and become a very good nutritionist and help people with healthy living.