In hospitals, CLSCs, CHSLDs, medical clinics and in offices, some 3,300 dieticians-nutritionists work every day with a varied clientele: the elderly, children, pregnant women, patients hospitalized or in intensive care, athletes and people struggling with chronic illnesses or eating disorders.
These healthcare professionals are experts in clinical nutrition. They have a recognized university education, offer quality care and respect high ethical standards. This is why the legislator reserves, subject to a prescription, nutritional treatment to dieticians-nutritionists.
Unfortunately, in recent years, more and more nutrition charlatans, very present on social networks, without proven training, provide patients with “nutritional care” which sometimes has serious health consequences.
When a breastfeeding woman is recommended by a quack to go on a diet keto (ketogenic diet), and she ends up in intensive care for several days, there is a serious risk to her health and that of her baby.
When a person with diabetes, on the ill-founded advice of a quack, upsets his blood sugar level, there is a serious risk to his life.
The documentary Detox. Infiltration in weight management imposters, made in 2019, demonstrates how easy and quick it is to become an untrained nutrition quack while circumventing the law meant to protect the public. The Ordre des diététistes-nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ) is responsible for protecting the public in matters of nutrition. For the Order, which does not have sufficient leverage to intervene and protect the public against these charlatans, a worrying breach in the Professional Code must now be plugged by the Quebec government.
To do this, the ODNQ is proposing an important, legitimate, effective and concrete change to the Professional Code that would allow it to intervene against these charlatans and thus better protect the public. We propose the withdrawal of the condition of the ordinance which creates the reserve of the activity of the dieticians-nutritionists.
This request is unanimously supported by the College of Physicians of Quebec and the Order of Nurses of Quebec.
The impacts of these charlatans on the health of vulnerable clienteles are too serious for this project to be postponed. The status quo is not an option.
In this sense, we encourage Minister Danielle McCann, responsible for professional laws, to table a bill in the coming weeks that could be adopted before the next election. It can count on our support and collaboration.