Nutrition Specialist Certification

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We partner with the American Academy of Sports Dietitians and Nutritionists to offer the AASDN Nutrition Specialist certification.

AASDN developed the Nutrition Specialist certification to meet the needs of fitness and health professionals wishing to safely and legally incorporate nutrition into their programs. The AASDN registered and licensed dietitians work closely with all Certified Nutrition Specialists to ensure they have quality, evidence based nutrition information to deliver to clients/patients. AASDN programs adhere to state nutrition licensure laws.

The certification course is designed to teach you the science of nutrition and its role in health and weight management, and to provide you the necessary tools to build a solid foundation for sound nutrition practice. The Nutrition Specialist credential is a great addition to the portfolio of any current or aspiring wellness professional, allied health professional, culinarian, daycare provider, or other healthcare-related professional.

You will have 18 months to complete the course and take your certification examination from the time of registration. You must pass the examination with a 75% or higher.

Program Details

Course Resources

  • Course introduction and instructions
  • “Nutrition for Professionals” certification manual
  • Study guide
  • AASDN Nutrition Specialist Candidate Handbook
  • Online Science of Nutrition interactive course
  • 8-hour live instruction from a Nutrition Specialist instructor for hands on training
  • Online 3-hour, open-book examination

Hybrid Certification Course

  • Asynchronous (self-paced) online science and nutrition module (5 hours)
  • In-person (instructor-led) classroom-based learning module (4 hours)
  • Synchronous (instructor-led) remote online learning module (4 hours)

After completing the course, you will be eligible to take an open-book exam to complete your certification. Study materials, a testing voucher, and a one-year membership to AASDN are included in your fee.

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Outcomes

Upon certification you will be able to provide nutritional advice to clients without chronic illness. You’ll also have access to unlimited support by an AASDN Registered Dietitian at no additional charge, enabling you to provide turnkey services to your clients.

You’ll receive learning materials and be certified by the National Association for Fitness Certification (NAFC), a certification and training organization for fitness professionals.

And AASDN offers an advanced credential, Nutrition Manager, that qualifies you to provide nutritional advice to special populations including those with chronic illness. The Nutrition Specialist credential is required to begin working toward the Nutrition Manager designation.

Benefits

  • Unlimited support by an AASDN dietitian at no additional charge.
  • Improve client/patient success by adding a nutrition component.
  • Distinguish yourself from other health professionals as a Nutrition Specialist.
  • Increase your income.
  • Easily fulfill continuing education requirements through most nationally recognized certification organizations. AASDN also accepts documentation of work completed in the field of nutrition and academic coursework related to nutrition.
  • All documents necessary to implement a nutrition component are available online. Materials have been developed by AASDN licensed sports professionals including: legal documents, menu plans, educational documents, individual scripted program, group program, youth program and more.
  • Option of providing more specialized services and serve special populations through the Nutrition Manager Program.
  • Credits earned can be applied to the Nutrition Instructor Training (NIT). Nutrition Specialists can earn the NIT certificate in less that half the required contact hours.