The Various Roles of an RD: Sports Dietitian

When I started working with two sports dietitians for the counseling portion of my dietetic internship, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As I learned over the four weeks, there is not a clearly defined role for someone with that specialty. A sports dietitian can wear many different hats and work in a variety of different settings. For example, many college-level and professional sports teams have an RD on staff to help their athletes eat better to perform better. Then there are those who have a private practice and take anyone interested in meeting with an RD but specialize in sports-related issues. Here is a brief snapshot of what two of those roles look like:

Sports Dietitian in a Gym Setting

At this particular facility, the RD was an employee of the gym (rather than just renting out office space within the gym). She had the same responsibilities of other managers there, attending budget meetings, spending one weekend a month as the manager on duty, discussing goals, etc. Her coworkers were personal trainers and group fitness directors.

The clients that she saw consisted primarily of members of the gym who were interested in losing weight. Many of them also meet with a personal trainer to help reach that goal. There were also some clients who needed help managing diabetes, lowering cholesterol, or dealing with a food allergy. Clients can pay out of pocket or if their insurance will cover the visit, the RD bills them and keeps track of which companies have sent her the payments and when (much more time consuming than you might think!). At this gym the RD also does all of her own marketing as well as scheduling. She writes blogs and facebook postings in attempts to educate members of the gym as well as encourage them to come see her. Many of her clients track what they eat using the application MyFitnessPal and she can log into their account between sessions to encourage them or provide suggestions.

The most spots-focused activity that she did during my time with her was to give a talk to the parents of members of the gym’s swim team. She discussed the importance for student athletes of snacking, hydrating, and of course the essential post-race chocolate milk.

Sports Dietitian in a Hospital Setting

In the setting of a hospital, an RD has a much different role as well as different responsibilities. As a staff member at the hospital, her co-workers were doctors and physical therapists who also specialize in sports. She did not do any of her own scheduling or billing since that was done through the hospital system.

This particular RD saw a lot of patients who have eating disorders. Many of these patients were also athletes such as runners or dancers. A number of other patients were dealing with being overweight or had slow-growth or delayed puberty. 

The most sports-focused activity that she did during my time with her was to participate in a clinic for runners where they could come to have their running (and eating)  analyzed by a physical therapist, a podiatrist, an RD, and a gait analysis.

Regardless of the setting or the fact that they both specialize in sports nutrition, my experience with one-on-one counseling was that often the session does not involve a lot of talk about food. Yes it’s covered, but much of the time issues with food and eating extend so much beyond just knowing what you should and should not eat that there is a lot of general therapy happening.