Table 1.
Description of the participants’ demographic and professional characteristics (n = 436).
| Characteristics | n | % |
|---|---|---|
| Age groups (years) | ||
| 20–39 | 228 | 52.3 |
| 40–59 | 167 | 38.3 |
| 60–75 | 41 | 9.4 |
| Geographical provenance | ||
| Northern Italy | 249 | 57.1 |
| Central Italy | 110 | 25.2 |
| Southern Italy | 77 | 17.7 |
| Highest degree earned | ||
| Bachelor’s Degree | 233 | 53.4 |
| Master’s Degree | 116 | 26.6 |
| 1st level University Master’s Degree | 69 | 15.8 |
| 2nd level University Master’s Degree | 11 | 2.5 |
| Academic Doctorate Degree | 7 | 1.6 |
| Member of ASAND ° | ||
| Yes | 276 | 63.3 |
| No | 160 | 36.7 |
| Current work ϭ | ||
| NHS employed | 146 | 33.5 |
| Private healthcare facility employee | 27 | 6.2 |
| Freelance | 243 | 55.7 |
| Employed by two institutes/centers # | 12 | 2.8 |
| University professor | 2 | 0.5 |
| Other | 6 | 1.3 |
| Experience as dietitian (years) | ||
| 0–10 | 185 | 42.4 |
| 11–20 | 123 | 28.2 |
| 21–30 | 75 | 17.2 |
| 31–40 | 41 | 9.4 |
| 41–50 | 12 | 2.8 |
| Focus area in which most time is spent | ||
| Artificial nutrition | 16 | 3.7 |
| Diabetes care | 50 | 11.5 |
| Disordered eating | 51 | 11.7 |
| Food and nutrition consultant | 44 | 10.1 |
| Food manager in collective catering companies | 17 | 3.9 |
| Gastroenterological support | 18 | 4.1 |
| Gerontological nutrition | 10 | 2.3 |
| Health prevention and nutrition education | 9 | 2,1 |
| Oncology | 20 | 4.6 |
| Other § | 13 | 3.0 |
| Kidney disease nutrition | 14 | 3.2 |
| Sports nutrition | 17 | 3.9 |
| Weight management | 137 | 31.4 |
| Women and pediatric nutrition | 20 | 4.6 |
| Age range of studying populations * | ||
| Older adults (age 65+) | 187 | 42.9 |
| Adults (ages 22–64) | 382 | 87.6 |
| Pregnant/postpartum women | 122 | 28 |
| Teenagers and young adults (ages 13–21) | 182 | 41.7 |
| Children (ages 6–12) | 105 | 24.1 |
| Young children (ages 1–5) | 44 | 10.1 |
| Infants | 17 | 3.9 |
° ASAND = Technical Scientific Association of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics. ϭ NHS = National Health System; # Employed by two institutes/centers = dietician who works simultaneously for the NHS or private healthcare facility and for themselves; Other = PhD students or job contract. § Other: bariatrics; cardiovascular; neurology; hereditary metabolic diseases; autoimmune diseases; university research; clinical studies. * Participants were able to select all options that applied.