Top 35 Nutritionist Interview Questions (2024)

Nutritionist (Dietitian) Interview Questions

Here are Nutritionist (Dietitian) interview questions and answers for freshers as well as experienced candidates to get their dream job.


1) Should teenagers take a vitamin supplement to meet their energy level up?

It is useless to give a vitamin supplement unless the teenager is on a low-calorie diet. It is always preferable to take vitamin organically from fruits, vegetables and healthy fats.

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2) What proportion of meal is best for a teenager? 3 large meals over a day or a 6 small meals a day?

Teenager’s metabolism is higher than an adult; it is advisable to give them a small meal at regular interval rather than large meals at longer duration. It will help them to keep their energy level high all day and prevent them overeating at meals.


3) Explain what is BMR?

BMR means Basal Metabolic Rate; it is an energy expressed in calories that the body requires to keep it functioning at rest.


4) What should be a daily diet for a patient with Type 1 diabetes?

Diabetes type 1 diet should include

  • Variety of food containing unsaturated fats such as nuts, avocados and oily fish
  • Avoid processed food
  • High fibre food
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables
  • Include beans and lentils in your diet
  • Reduce or avoid intake of salt, sugar and alcohol

5) What should be diet of a person who wants to lose weight?

To lose weight diet should be-

  • Low in carbohydrate: To lose weight quickly, you can have a small portion vegetables and one piece of fruit per day and consume around 20-50 grams of carbohydrate
  • Reducing calorie and fat intake
  • Don’t skip meals and breakfast- it will tempt you to eat more and may lead into excess weight gain
  • Food high in fibre and less in calories
  • Drink a lot of water through the day and keep yourself hydrate
Nutritionist Interview Questions
Nutritionist Interview Questions

6) What is the formula to calculate BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)?

The Harris benedict equation

  • For Men: [13.75 x weight] + [5 x height] – [6.76 x age] + 66
  • For Women: [9.56 x weight] + [1.85 x height] – [4.68 x age] + 655

7) Explain what is the difference between dietician and nutritionist?

The role of both nutritionist and dietician are same, they both are healthcare professionals and give vital information on healthy eating habits and dietary supplements, dietician can be a nutritionist but not all nutritionist are dieticians. Dietician are registered and nationally recognized while nutritionist is more general.


8) What is the best vegetable to eat?

All fresh vegetables are best for your diet; it comprises of all essential nutrients like fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C and most important range of anti-oxidant, which can reduce the risk of cancer.


9) Is meat bad for good health?

Meat is an excellent source of protein, iron and other essential nutrients. However it should be roasted or grilled instead of frying to derive maximum health benefits.


10) If you don’t drink milk because of lactose intolerance where you can get calcium?

If you are not consuming milk due to lactose intolerance, you can get calcium from fat-free cheese and yogurt, canned sardines, orange juice and cereals.


11) Explain what is good and bad fat?

Fat is classified in two categories, saturated and unsaturated. Un-saturated fat is healthy and reduces the risk of heart disease while saturated and trans fat are bad and increase the risk of the heart ailment.

Nutritionist
Nutritionist

12) List out saturated and unsaturated food items?

  • Saturated fat: Cheese, butter, deep fried foods, processed oil, fatty meats
  • Unsaturated or good fat: Fish, olives, nuts and peanuts, vegetable oil

13) Explain what is the most important point to remember in nutrition?

The most important thing in nutrition is moderation and diversity. One must consume all type of foods and in moderate amount, not in excess.


14) How much water should an individual consumer per day?

  • Men: 13 cups (3 liters) of water per day
  • Women: 9 Cups ( 2.2 liters) of water per day

15) What is the good source of iron?

The absorption rate of iron from meat, poultry and fish are higher than iron from plants, in order to get maximum absorption of iron, along with iron rich food you have to take vitamin c like citrus fruits or yogurt.


16) Why Anti-oxidants are important for your body?

Antioxidants are substance that may protect cells in your body from free radicals. Free radicals can damage your tissue cells; it is formed when your body or tissue cells are exposed to certain chemicals, pollution, radiation, etc.


17) What are dietary Antioxidants?

Dietary antioxidants comprise of Selenium, Vitamin A and related Carotenoids, Vitamin C and E.


18) Do calcium supplements interfere with medications?

Calcium does interact with several medication in different ways like antibiotics, diuretics, laxatives, etc. It will have an effect on the absorption process of medication or vice versa. It is always advisable to take physician advice on its intake and at what duration you can have it.


19) Is it ok to replace medication with food supplement like replacing cholesterol medication with niacin?

Niacin is B3 vitamin (egg, peanut, milk) which has a tendency to reduce blood cholesterol, but you are already on medication that is reducing cholesterol, you should not replace it with high intake of vitamin B3 or Niacin.


20) What should a PKU diet be?

PKU is a genetic disorder called Phenylketonuria. It lacks the enzyme which converts phenylalanine amino acid into tyrosine amino acid, resulting in accumulation of phenylalanine. Excess phenylalanine causes brain damage, so children who have PKU should avoid protein rich food.


21) Explain what is the intake of protein in diabetic?

About 15- 20% of your daily calorie should come from protein. However, a diabetic patient won’t have any difference in their sugar level with high intake of protein, so they can consume food rich protein unless they have CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) related to diabetes.


22) Explain which egg is more nutritious white or brown?

Both eggs has same nutritional value; they are rich in protein, vitamin and most important nutrient choline which is responsible for brain development and function. One egg may provide half of your daily requirement of choline.


23) Explain how type 2 diabetes can be avoided?

Type 2 diabetes can be avoided by

  • Eat snacks and meals throughout the day, and do not go longer without eating
  • Restrict yourself to the food rich in sodium, fat and sugar
  • Eat more fibre containing foods like vegetables, fruit and whole grains
  • Drink water instead of sweetened beverages

24) Do peach pit contain cyanide?

Peach pit do contain cyanide in the form of cyanogen glycosides, one hundred gram of moist peach seed contain 88 mg of cyanide. So if you eat whole pit you would consume around 9 milligram of cyanide in the form of amygdalin that is less poisonous.


25) Mention what is the balanced diet of an adult should be comprised of on a single day?

On a single day, balanced diet of an adult should comprise of

  • Protein – 50 grams
  • Fat – 70 grams
  • Carbohydrates – 310 grams
  • Sugars – 90 grams
  • Sodium – 2.3 grams
  • Dietary Fibre – 30 grams
  • Saturated Fatty Acids – 24 grams
  • Total Energy per day – 8,700 kilojoules

26) Explain what dietary fibre is and list out some of the good source of dietary fibres?

Dietary fibre is composed of an edible parts of plants that can neither be absorbed nor digested by the small intestine and moves into the large intestine intact.
Some of the good sources of dietary fibre includes

  • Fruits: Pears, strawberries, blackberries, oranges, raspberries and all the fruits that can be eaten without peeling of its outside skin
  • Vegetables: Brussel sprouts, onion garlic, peas, green peas, broccoli, corn, etc.
  • Pulses: Chickpeas, lentils, beans and whole grains

27) Mention what are the main advantages of using dietary fibre daily?

The advantages of using dietary fibre are

  • Increase bowel function: Dietary fibres are the insoluble fibres, which increases the laxative property of bowel, and helps an individual to relieve from constipation. It might also help in reducing colon cancer risk; inhibiting the growth of tumor cells by saturated fatty acid, which is produced when fibre is fermented by gut bacteria
  • Reduce blood sugar level: It also slows down the absorption of glucose level in blood by not allowing complete digestion of carbohydrate you have consumed
  • Reduce blood cholesterol level: Rice bran or oat bran are some good sources of dietary fibre that prevents fatty acids to convert into bad cholesterol and thus minimizes the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)
  • Gives satiating feeling: Apart from all these benefits, there are some additional benefits for overweight or obese people who lack satiate feeling resulting in over-consumption of food. Dietary fibre gives satiate feeling without adding any extra calories and also reduces fat level from the body

28) List out some of the dietary minerals included in our daily intake?

Some of the minerals included in our daily intake includes

  • Calcium: Milk and milk product ( 700 mg/day)
  • Magnesium: Green Vegetables and Nuts ( 150-500 mg/day)
  • Phosphorous: Meat, fish, dairy products ( 550mg/day)
  • Chloride: Salt and salty food (No fixed value)
  • Cobalt: Seafoods, meats and milk products (No fixed value)
  • Iodine: Seafoods, shellfish, cod liver oil and milk (130ug/day)
  • Fluoride: Seafood, tea and water (No fixed value)
  • Sodium: Salt, cheese, soups (575 – 3500 mg/day)
  • Iron: Meat, dried fruit, green vegetables + vit C (9-20 mg/day)
  • Manganese: Tea (1-10gm/day)
  • Molybdenum: Meat, cereals and milk (No fixed value)
  • Zinc: Seafood, eggs,pulses ( 9.5 mg/day)
  • Selenium: Seafood, cereals ( 55ug/day)

29) What is GMO and what are the pros and cons of the GMO food?

GMO stands for genetically modified foods, this type of food is artificially bred under supervision to yield a food with desire quantity and quality.

Pros:

  • Heavily Tested: Intense and gruesome testing on animals, scientifically it was proved that GMO are safe to consume
  • Impact on Farming: GMO enables plants to be modified and grow, even in most bizarre conditions
  • Cheaper Food: Easier farming process means cheaper food
  • Increased Nutritional Value: It helps to yield food high in its nutritional value

Cons:

  • Health Concerns: There is no strong evidence that tells GMO has no long-term effect on humans health
  • Ethics: There is a group of people who believes the practice of GMO is illegal and unethical
  • Safety Concerns: FDA does not treat GMO any differently than conventional food; no special safety regulation or warnings are put in practice
  • Need for labels: Not just before a decade, rule passed to label all the GMO plants, as it was impossible to figure out which one is GMO and which one are ordinary one.
Dietitian Interview Questions
Dietitian Interview Questions

30) Is it good to avoid fat for weight loss?

It depends on what type of fat you are avoiding, if you are avoiding saturated fats than its good. Otherwise, it may show adverse effect as fat are equally important for functioning of the body.  It is scientifically proved that 35% of your daily calorie should come from the fat (virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds and natural nut butters).


31) What should be the intake of vegetables for non-vegetarian?

Although, meat and eggs have their benefits, it is necessary to include some vegetables to your non-veg table. To have a complete diet, non-vegetarian should include at least five to six plant-based meals a week by using lentils, beans or organic tofu as your protein source.


32) List out some of the sources of anti-oxidant?

Anti-oxidant eliminates toxin present in our body, some of the rich sources of anti-oxidant are

  • Berries
  • Broccoli
  • Garlic
  • Tomatoes
  • Green tea

33) What are the benefits of spices in food?

Spices not only adds taste to our food, but also give nutritional value

  • Rosemary: It contain essential volatile oils and are rich in minerals and vitamin B. It is used for diuretic disorder, to cure flatulence and to treat neuralgic pain, etc.
  • Cummins: It contains phytonutrients, essential oil and anti-oxidants
  • Bay leaf: It is a very good source of many vitamins like niacin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, etc.
  • Cinnamon: It has the highest amount of anti-oxidant than any other source found in nature. It is used as anti-septic for teeth and gum
  • Mustard seeds: They are also rich in nutrients, anti-oxidants and B-complex vitamins
  • Coriander seeds: It is rich in minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, etc.
  • Saffron: It also contains anti-oxidant and anti-depressant properties
  • Fenugreek seeds: Fenugreek is a rich source of minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients. Apart from that they are also a rich source of dietary fiber, and it is used to cure digestive problems, reduce cholesterol and bronchitis
  • Cloves: It is considered as a good source of vitamins like vitamin A and carotene, but this should be consumed in a small portion as it may cause acidity and burning sensation if taken in excess. It acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and reduce blood glucose level in diabetics.
  • Cardamom: It contains essential volatile oils, and rich in minerals. It is used as an anti-oxidant.

34) When dietary supplements can be harmful to an individual?

Dietary supplement can be harmful in following conditions

  • Using a supplement with medications
  • Substituting with supplement to the prescribed medicine without taking advice from a physician
  • Taking excess of vitamins like vitamin A, D or minerals like Iron
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6 Comments

  1. Avatar Md Baraga says:

    The answer to the question are clear but it also needs simplification of other scientific word to be simple to understand to the local people at grassroot level.

  2. Avatar Zalak Bhimani says:

    it was quick brush up to the nutrition student awesome

  3. Avatar yohanes gatchok piny says:

    it my pleasure to get sensitive information from your page .

    thank

  4. It was great for last moment revision with almost all the major questions being covered. It was very helpful, thanks for putting it out. Had a doubt in the 30th question if it’s supposed to be unsaturated, I think it should be saturated right?

    1. Alex Silverman Alex Silverman says:

      Yes, Ans is updated

  5. Avatar Oluwatosimi says:

    Thank you very much, it was a helpful information

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