Expert decries dieticians shortage in healthcare centres

Mrs Clara Azubuike, the Head of Nutrition and Dietics, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, has called for employment of more dieticians at various healthcare centres across the country.

Azubuike who made the appeal in an interview in Umuahia on Monday, decried the dearth of qualified dieticians at local government primary healthcare centres.

She explained that the dieticians would educate people on healthy living.

The dietician said that quacks were usually employed whenever there was job placement, whereas many professional dieticians are roaming the streets.

She said: “They think that if you study anything that has to do with food you are a dietician.

“A dietician is somebody that studied human nutrition and dietics, and then does one year internship and gets certified by the professional body to practice.”

The expert noted that there are dieticians at the healthcare centres who give health talk but said they are not enough for the enormous task.

Azubuike said that proper education on nutritional requirements would address some medical challenges.

She,however, advised that people should stop eating junk, but go back to the old lifestyle of nutrition by eating natural foods.

Azubuike also urged parents to focus more on foods that contain fibre, such as vegetables, fruits and others, rather than eating ice cream and other junks, saying “it is healthier and more economical”.

“In this hospital, we give nutrition health talk all the time, but the issue is that most people don’t come early when the talks are going on,” she said.