As the United States celebrates National Registered Dietitian Day, K-State campus dietitians will be spending another busy day counseling, researching, teaching, learning and much more.

"There is a lot of confusion and misconceptions about what dietitians really do," said Courtney Held, senior in public health and dietetics. "In reality, there are a large variety of things dietitians are involved in."

On campus, there are about 25 registered dietitians working in dining services, education and research, extension and community outreach programs and nutritional counseling, Held said.

"In the dining centers, our jobs are management of the dining operations," said Mary Molt, assistant professor in the department of housing and dining. "Our team of dietitians is responsible for the nutritional aspects of our menus."

The team of 10 dietitians works with the nutritional information of food items, which are displayed in the dining centers. They make sure the nutritional information is accurate, through a process known as nutrition linking. Dietitians also work directly with students, advising them according to their diet needs, Molt said.

Students who are gluten intolerant, diabetic, allergic to peanut, soy, milk or any other ingredients, or who want to gain or lose weight, can seek out one of the dietitians in the dining center for advice, she said.

"All of our dietitians are registered through an examination process and our expertise allows us to work with students in that way," she said. "We want to make dieting enjoyable for students."

About 260 students are enrolled in the dietetics undergraduate program, and seniors have the option to take part in the coordinated dietitian program that prepares them for the certification process. The certification is done through the American Dietitian Association and students who pass the examinations receive a license to practice as a dietitian in Kansas.

K-State has the only program in Kansas that prepares students in the dietetics department to go through the certification, said Molt.

"After graduation, students choose to work in clinical settings, management settings, as athlete nutritional counselors or in the industry of product development," she said. "There are plenty of opportunities for dietitians."

Other groups of dietitians on campus focus on nutritional advice and outreach programs. Held is the president of Student Dietetics Association, a group dedicated to support dietetics students in their professional development, she said.