If there is an area where fitness trainers and coaches step outside of their scope of practice on a regular basis it is definitely in the area of nutrition and diet prescriptions!   Why is that?  Granted that any good trainer or coach should have a certain amount of education in the field of nutrition but very few if any have ever gone through the rigorous educational and practical training that nutritionists go through.  Can you really evaluate one diet in comparison to another if you don’t have an extensive background in chemistry, physiology and biochemistry?  Well, let’s turn that same question on a scope of practice that trainers should have extensive background in, exercise prescription.  If a trainer has an inadequate background, both educationally and experientially, in the subjects of kinesiology – the scientific study of human movement, physiology -  the scientific study of the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical, and biochemical functions of humans, and biomechanics -  the sport science field that applies the laws of mechanics and physics to human performance, can that trainer really make educated and safe decisions on  assigning particular exercises for their clients?  

I suspect that most trainers and coaches would respond “NO” to that question!  Ultimately,  if trainers and coaches want to be treated and recognized as professionals similar to an engineer, or lawyer, or doctor or plumber then we need to stop stepping outside of our scope of practice and  make sure we pay our dues in regards to education, apprenticeships, and certification.  A weekend workshop on nutrition counseling does not qualify as comparable to what a dietician goes through and quite frankly neither does a semester or two of study!  Self-guided study is great, but we will tend to study areas that we have bias towards based on personal experiences and not pursue well-rounded and scientifically grounded study patterns on our own.  This is what professional educators are paid to do - develop courses that are appropriate for developing a sound basis of knowledge and analytical skills that allow us to then make educated decisions about the good, bad and ugly diet information that our clients are constantly bombarded with.

Does this mean that fitness trainers and coaches should never make recommendations about diet for their clients and athletes?  Well, that sort of depends on exactly what level of training and education that trainer or coach has obtained.  Ideally, we acquire enough knowledge to at least make general lifestyle recommendations and then are smart enough to develop relationships with nutrition professionals who can assist us with things that fall outside of our area of expertise.