DEFINITIONS

In this chapter: (1) "Advisory board" means the Dietitians Advisory Board. (1-a) "Commission" means the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation. (2) "Department" means the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. (3) "Dietetics" means the professional discipline of applying and integrating scientific principles of food, nutrition, biochemistry, physiology, management, and behavioral and social sciences under different health, social, cultural, physical, psychological, and economic conditions for the proper nourishment, care, and education of an individual or group throughout the life cycle to achieve and maintain human health. The term includes the development, management, and provision of nutrition services. (4) "Executive director" means the executive director of the department. (5) "Licensed dietitian" means a person licensed under this chapter. (6) "Nutrition assessment" means evaluating the nutritional needs of an individual or group based on appropriate biochemical, anthropometric, physical, and dietary data to determine nutrient needs and recommend appropriate nutritional intake, including enteral and parenteral nutrition. (7) "Nutrition counseling" means advising and assisting an individual or group on appropriate nutritional intake by integrating information from a nutrition assessment with information on food and other sources of nutrients and meal preparation consistent with cultural background and socioeconomic status. (8) "Nutrition services" means: (A) assessing the nutritional needs of an individual or group and determining constraints and resources in the practice; (B) establishing priorities and goals that meet nutritional needs and are consistent with constraints and available resources; (C) providing nutrition counseling in health and disease; (D) developing, implementing, and managing nutritional care systems; or (E) evaluating, changing, and maintaining appropriate quality standards in food and nutritional care services. (9) Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 482 (S.B. 627), Sec. 4(1), eff. September 1, 2025.