Nutrition is the science of food and its effects on health and disease. Nutritionists are experts who study, advise, and promote healthy eating habits and lifestyles. Nutrition is a growing field in Pakistan, as the country faces various challenges related to food security, malnutrition, obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases. According to the Pakistan Subnational Food Systems Dashboard1, Pakistan ranks 106th out of 113 countries in terms of food quality and safety, and has a high burden of stunting, wasting, anaemia, and obesity among its population. In this article, we will explore the scope of nutrition in Pakistan, including the job careers, salary, and more for aspiring and practicing nutritionists. We will also look at the latest trends and developments in the field of nutrition in Pakistan in 2023.
By Zaryab Ahmed
A lot of people do not really understand what nutrition is so in order for this to work, one should actually have the knowledge of the basic stuff.
Nutrition is related to your diet and what you eat and the amount of nutrients that has.
It comprises all the things related to diet, what you eat, how you eat it and how much amount you take that specific thing etc.
Whereas dietetics is related to applying the science and art of nutrition into physical and practical work. They deal with the proper food intake even in health related conditions.
Every dietitian is a nutritionist but not every nutritionist is a dietitian.
Taking in that, a degree in nutrition and dietetics is wisely being done here in Pakistan. A lot of universities and institutes are promoting it and alongside, a lot of dietitians and nutritionists are working in Pakistan and doing great work.
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There are various degrees related to nutrition namely Bachelor’s in Food and Nutrition, Doctor of Dietetics and Nutritional Sciences, Doctor of Nutrition and so on.
Now, these are similar in some ways as they revolve around the same subjects but the duration of the degree may vary.
For example, Doctor of Nutrition takes 5 years whereas Bachelors in this field takes not more than 4 years to complete.
In Pakistan, a lot of progress has been seen regarding this field of study but it is flourishing day by day and it won’t be wrong to think that it will be more readily available and understood in the coming years. Hence, the scope of majoring in Nutrition will rise in the following years.
Job Opportunities Nutrition in Pakistan
Job opportunities for Nutritionist in Pakistan are better than before. If a student is interested in nutrition or dietetics, the job market is expanding fast. You can find many positions available for nutritionist in hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities. There are also positions available with pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers.
In order to become a nutritionist, you need to complete a four-year bachelor’s degree program from an accredited university and pass the exam to obtain your license. This can take anywhere between two to four years. The salary for nutritionists varies widely depending on education and experience.
Perhaps the most important aspect of becoming a nutritionist is gaining experience working as one. You will have to work at least three years in this field to get your license, so it is vital that you gain enough experience before applying to become a nutritionist. Once you have gained enough experience and are licensed, you should be able to find plenty of job opportunities for nutritionists in Pakistan.
Job opportunities for Nutritionist in Pakistan are better than before. If a student is interested in nutrition or dietetics, the job market is expanding fast. You can find many positions available for nutritionist in hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities. There are also positions available with pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers.
Now as I mentioned earlier that there are a lot of job opportunities, let’s take a look at a few of these.
1. Clinical Nutritionist
Now you can always pursue your career working from a hospital or even establish your own clinic after giving and passing an official exam known as RD, here, which stands for Registered Dietitian.
For those of you, who haven’t gotten a chance to do MBBS and always dreamt of a ”doctor” vibe can easily get the benefits from this profession.
One should know the importance of a clinical Nutritionist who is as much responsible for their patients’ health as the doctors themselves are.
Nutritionists do not just make diet plans throughout their lives but also guide patients according to their chronic or acute conditions. The do’s and don’ts of a diet are advised by a good Nutritionist/Dietitian.
In Pakistan, the private sector has a greater number of opportunities for a dietitian but that tends to increase as well as in the public sector.
2. Fitness Consultants
This is another way of utilizing your degree. One can become a fitness expert and a consultant once they have cleared their specific degree. One can also open their own gym and fitness clinics.
As a person studying diet and nutrition is fully qualified in delivering the guidelines about the correct consumption of nutrients in your diet, they are automatically fit to guide you about your fitness queries.
Whether they are working out plans, diet plans and helping people to gain/lose weight. Fitness experts even deal with people who are suffering from certain diseases and help them with a non-medical approach.
3. Quality Control Manager
They have a responsibility of meeting all the standards of a certain product and make sure that it is of best quality according to the efficiency standards.
They also work with customers and consumers to understand the mindset and develop strategies to meet the requirements of quality of products and to do inspection of everything in order to check and test products for defects etc.
4. Product Manager
After completing their degree in food and nutrition, you can easily get hired by food industries and become a product manager. This, too, has a wide scope.
5. Food researcher and Scientist
This is a great chance at learning and discovering new things in the industry which will benefit the whole world, once you succeed.
There are a few universities in Pakistan that offer a phD degree in food and nutrition. With that in hand, you can always become a senior college professor in the field or even an expert dietitian.
6. Food Inspector
Food inspectors check the hygiene of the food and products including the ingredients, location and types of utensil used in the manufacturing, processing, handling and storage of foods.
This is a very tough job but this is directly linked to the government sector so if you succeed in that and gain an experience of 3 or more years, you can get a really good salary package.
7. NGO based Jobs
You can work as a Nutritionist/Dietitian there and take control of the food intake and also the food quality consumed by the people.
With a degree in food and nutrition, you can act as a Public Health Nutritionist in non governmental organizations and play your part in spreading some good in the world.
8. Food Auditors in Hotels
You can become a food auditor at a company or a hotel and their job basically to ensure that food safety standards are upheld.
They document and verify evidence and reports of compliance and non compliance and create audit findings.
9. Herbal and Homeopathic Fields:
10. Food Law and Regulation Department
11. Culinary Expert
Salary Packages for a Nutritionist in Pakistan
The second most important thing after the scope and popularity of something is how much a certain profession pays.
As this is a somewhat new and thriving field so the starting salary would be a little less around 35k-50k a month but it gets better once you have gained enough experience.
Also, it seems that the salary package is better than most of the fields in Pakistan.
Once you are settled in, the salary can even increase to one lac and bloom as your status expands.
How to Find a Nutritionist Job in Pakistan
Thanks to the internet, finding a job has become a piece of cake. The most common method is to write the job title into the Google search.
But searching everyday isn’t a good idea.
That’s why you should use Google Alert, whenever a new job comes, you get alerted.
Go to Google Alert and write the job you need.
You’ll get the email once the new job is indexed on Google.
Final Thought
Concluding everything, I would say that it is a great field to be in and you can learn and discover new things everyday in this career.
For those of people who still haven’t decided which career to opt for, can easily jump into this and surely succeed in this interesting yet fruitful process.
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