Health · England
Help with food and nutrition
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This guide is for people in England.
A dietitian helps with food, drinks and nutrition.
When to ask for help
Nutrition means getting what your body needs from food.
Your body needs enough food and fluid.
Ask for help if eating or drinking is difficult.
Tell your GP if your weight changes without trying.
People of any body size can need nutrition support.
You do not have to look thin to need help.
Prepare to see a dietitian
Ask your GP or health team about a dietitian.
Ask which service can help you.
Tell the dietitian which foods and drinks you like.
Explain smells, tastes or textures that are difficult.
Bring your current eating or feeding plan.
Bring a list of medicines and supplements.
You may be asked to record food and drinks.
Ask what to write down and for how long.
Make a plan that works for you
Tell someone if swallowing is difficult.
Different health workers may need to help together.
Ask for a plan that works in your daily life.
Ask supporters to learn how to help you.
Your choices and preferences matter.
Ask people to explain the options.
Reviews and urgent help
Ask when the plan will be checked.
Tell your team if things change or become difficult.
Do not wait for an appointment if you become unwell.
Call 111 for urgent health advice.
Call 999 in a life-threatening emergency.
What you can do next
Please help me get the right nutrition support.
Please explain the plan in a way I understand.
Read about dietitians Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- British Dietetic Association: what is a dietitian? Web page
Regulated professionals assessing and treating dietary and nutritional problems.
- British Dietetic Association: dietitians and nutritionists Web page
Different roles, statutory dietetic registration and voluntary nutritionist registration.
- British Dietetic Association: ARFID resources Web page
Includes dietetic considerations for learning disability and ARFID, and 2026 guidance on gastrostomy considerations.
- HCPC: check the register Web page
Check registration for the professions regulated by the HCPC.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Dietitians, food and nutrition support
Ask for nutrition assessment and a practical plan that respects your needs and food preferences.
Children and adults · England · Local referral arrangements vary
What a dietitian does
Dietitians are regulated health professionals. They assess how food, drink and health conditions affect nutrition, and agree practical support. The aim might be enough energy, adequate nutrients, comfortable eating, growth or managing a medical condition. Nutritional needs differ. The plan should include food preferences, cultural or religious needs, budget, access to food and the help available at mealtimes.
When to ask for an assessment
Speak to your GP or current health team about unplanned weight change, eating much less, a very restricted range of foods, poor growth, weakness or concerns about hydration. You can have nutritional deficiencies at any body size; appearance or weight alone cannot rule them out. Explain bowel symptoms, pain, vomiting, dental problems, medicines and other changes. These may need medical assessment alongside dietetics. Do not assume every eating problem is caused by learning disability.
How to ask for dietetic help
Ask your GP, community learning disability team or hospital team which dietetic service can assess the concern. Some services accept self-referrals; others require a professional referral. Children’s services, adult community services, specialist feeding services and learning disability dietetics may have separate criteria. Explain both the nutritional problem and adjustments needed. If a specialist team cannot accept the referral, ask which service should help and how access needs will be met there.
Prepare for the appointment
Ask the service what information would help. A short record may show foods and drinks offered and actually taken, approximate amounts, symptoms and assistance needed. Note preferred brands, textures, temperature, routines and foods the person can manage comfortably. Bring a medicines and supplements list, existing eating or tube-feeding plans, and any recent measurements. For children, bring available growth records. Ask for accessible weighing equipment if needed; do not guess measurements or risk an unsafe transfer.
What assessment can involve
The dietitian may explore intake, weight changes, growth, medical history, digestive symptoms and the practical experience of eating. They may use available clinical information or discuss further investigations with the appropriate clinician. Tell them how the person communicates hunger, fullness, pain, enjoyment or refusal. Ask them to explain any nutritional risk, the options and what would show the plan is helping. Assessment should consider the whole person, rather than only a weight target.
Restricted eating, ARFID and pica
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, called ARFID, can involve sensory sensitivities, little interest in food, or fear of consequences such as choking. Support may require a specialist team with dietetic, psychological and medical skills. Pica means eating things that are not food; it needs its own assessment and safety plan. A dietitian can contribute when nutrition is a concern, but food advice alone is not a complete pica assessment. Tell the team about distress and sensory needs. Ask for an approach that protects nutrition while respecting the person.
Swallowing, seating and eating aids
A speech and language therapist may assess swallowing; a dietitian considers nutritional and fluid needs. An OT may help with utensils or practical skills, and a physiotherapist or seating service may help with posture. Ask for a coordinated plan when several needs overlap. A dietitian’s advice does not replace an individual swallowing plan. Do not introduce thickener or change food texture by copying another person’s advice. Report new swallowing difficulty promptly to your GP or NHS 111.
Supplements and tube feeding
Some people need prescribed nutritional drinks, other supplements or enteral feeding, which means feeding into the digestive system through a tube. Decisions should be individual and involve the person and relevant clinical team. Ask who sets the feed and fluid plan, supplies equipment, trains supporters and handles problems. Do not change a prescribed tube-feeding, supplement or fluid plan without the responsible team’s advice. A dietitian may help manage nutrition; tube care and medicines can involve nurses, doctors and pharmacists too.
A plan that works in daily life
Ask for a plan showing the goal, what support is needed, who will provide it and when it will be reviewed. Discuss realistic shopping, cooking, staffing and mealtime arrangements. Ask for demonstrations or accessible pictures where useful. Explain if advice is unaffordable, distressing or impossible to follow. Respect preferences and the right to be involved in decisions. Any restrictions need proper justification and review; a nutrition plan is not blanket permission to control an adult’s life.
Dietitian or nutritionist?
Dietitian and dietician are protected titles: the person must be registered with the HCPC. Nutritionist is a different role and the title alone is not legally protected. Some nutritionists are on the Association for Nutrition’s voluntary register and have relevant qualifications and expertise. Check the exact title, registration and scope of practice. For assessment and treatment of complex nutritional problems, ask the NHS which appropriately qualified clinician or team you need.
Do not wait for a routine appointment if health worsens
Contact a GP promptly about unexplained weight loss or persistent poor intake. Ask for urgent GP help or call NHS 111 for signs of serious dehydration, such as peeing much less, persistent dizziness on standing or unusual drowsiness. Call 999 if someone is difficult to wake, has severe breathing difficulty or has other signs of a life-threatening emergency. Follow the person’s existing emergency plan where relevant. Our urgent health and swallowing guides explain further warning signs.
Review and transfer the plan
Ask what should be monitored, how often and who should act on the results. Tell the team about new symptoms, reduced intake, difficulties following the plan or changes in support. Make sure the plan follows the person into hospital, education, respite or a new home. At transition to adult services, ask who will take responsibility for dietetic follow-up, prescriptions and feeding supplies.
Words you could use
“Please assess my nutrition and eating needs. Please consider my preferences, communication, sensory needs, swallowing and the support available in daily life.”
More useful links
- British Dietetic Association: what is a dietitian? Web page
Regulated professionals assessing and treating dietary and nutritional problems.
- British Dietetic Association: dietitians and nutritionists Web page
Different roles, statutory dietetic registration and voluntary nutritionist registration.
- British Dietetic Association: ARFID resources Web page
Includes dietetic considerations for learning disability and ARFID, and 2026 guidance on gastrostomy considerations.
- HCPC: check the register Web page
Check registration for the professions regulated by the HCPC.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- NHS England: dietitians working in learning disability Web page
Individual nutritional assessment, tube feeding, training and work with the wider support team.
- British Dietetic Association: what is a dietitian? Web page
Regulated professionals assessing and treating dietary and nutritional problems.
- British Dietetic Association: dietitians and nutritionists Web page
Different roles, statutory dietetic registration and voluntary nutritionist registration.
- HCPC: professions and protected titles Web page
Protected titles include dietitian, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, art therapist and clinical psychologist.
- NHS: symptoms of malnutrition Web page
Malnutrition can occur at any body size; signs include weight loss, weakness and faltering growth.
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS: nutrition and dietetics Web page
Preparing for appointments, food records, weight information and children’s growth records. Local service example.
- British Dietetic Association: ARFID resources Web page
Includes dietetic considerations for learning disability and ARFID, and 2026 guidance on gastrostomy considerations.
- British Dietetic Association: ARFID position statement Web page
Specialist multidisciplinary assessment and the contribution of dietetics.
- Sutton Health and Care NHS: learning disability dysphagia team Web page
Joint speech and language therapy and dietetics, with occupational therapy, physiotherapy and other professionals.
- Bedfordshire and Luton NHS: nutrition and dietetics Web page
An NHS example requiring professional referral and offering separate specialist pathways.
- Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS: specialist learning disability dietitians Web page
An NHS example of specialist support, with separate mainstream weight management routes.
- NHS: dehydration Web page
Warning signs and when to seek urgent or emergency help.
- NHS: managing weight with a learning disability Web page
Medical review of weight change, referral and records of eating.
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