Health Advisory Services Workers

How to become a Dietitian and Nutritionist

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 营养师

Also called: Nutrition Adviser, Public Health Nutritionist, Sports Nutritionist

Measures and assesses the diet and nutrition of groups and individuals and the nutrition in food, gives diet advice, manages community nutrition, and teaches about nutrition, balanced diets and food safety.

Main tasks

Assessing the nutrition of particular groups or individuals through diet surveys, body measurements, activity tests and lab tests and giving guidance
Assessing, managing and guiding diets by surveying food intake, calculating nutrient intake and analysing nutrition
Working out nutrient and food needs, writing and adjusting meal plans, assessing food nutrition and advising on buying food
Answering questions about nutrition and food safety
Collecting nutrition and health information, setting up and managing health records, designing and carrying out nutrition and exercise programmes and running community health education and nutrition programmes

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Food Nutrition and Health (490103). Vocational major 490103 Food Nutrition and Health (食品营养与健康), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Sports Nutrition Consulting and Guidance; Food Inspection Management.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Health Management (520801). Vocational major 520801 Health Management (健康管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Early Childhood Care; Maternal and Infant Care; Weight Management; Elderly Care; Sports Nutrition Consulting and Guidance; Medical and Elderly Care Case Management.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Medical Nutrition (520805). Vocational major 520805 Medical Nutrition (医学营养), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Health Professional and Technical Qualification; Sports Nutrition Consulting and Guidance; Weight Management.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Nutrition and Health Care (720801). Vocational major 720801 Nutrition and Health Care (营养与保健), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Health Management (320801). Vocational major 320801 Health Management (健康管理), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Early Childhood Care; Maternal and Infant Care; Weight Management; Elderly Care; Sports Nutrition Consulting and Guidance; Medical and Elderly Care Case Management.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥50,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥37,700 to CN¥67,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥30,000 and one in ten more than CN¥99,100.
This is the figure for the mid group Health, Sports and Leisure Services Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥70,413 a year (2025), middle half CN¥46,668 to CN¥94,765.
This is the figure for the mid group Health, Sports and Leisure Services Workers, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Health, Sports and Leisure Services Workers holds 0.07% of everyone employed in China; 66.5% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
45.1% are under 35, 46.5% are 35 to 54 and 8.5% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Dietitian and Nutritionist?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Food Nutrition and Health (490103); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Health Management (520801).

How much does a Dietitian and Nutritionist earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥50,000 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Health, Sports and Leisure Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥70,413 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Dietitian and Nutritionist?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026