I think the key word for getting becoming an RD is "prescribe", most anyone can give advice or even a general outline of a nutrition program.
The only reason I would think there would be a need to prescribe a nutrition program would be if you wanted to work with special populations like the elderly, children, or people with medical conditions. I've even met RD's that couldn't put a sports nutrition program together because it wasn't something they specialized in.
It's along the same lines as the ACSM Health and Fitness Instructor certification (which I have), theres a bunch of clinical info in there, but not as much practical info as I would of liked. There's not a lot of need for sub-max bicycle fitness testing or BP reading where I work, and from what I can tell is one of the reasons why Jean-Paul isn't a big fan of ACSM.
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