About Us

In 1962,a group of like-minded nutritionists, dietitians and workers in the allied health fields resolved to form a scientific body to highlight the importance of dietetics and nutrition in the maintenance of health, and in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Thus, the Indian Dietetic Association was founded, with Prof. Kalyan Bagchi as Secretary and Dr. C. Gopalan as President. The association was affiliated to the International Congress of Dietetics in 1975.The Headquarters of IDA is located in Kolkata. Golden Jubilee celebrations of IDA was held in 2012 at Hyderabad.

Aims and Objectives of the Association

To promote the cause of science by encouraging the spirit of active pursuit of knowledge and original scientific research particularly in the field of Nutrition and Dietetics.
To facilitate social, scientific and cultural fellowship and cultivation of goodwill among its members.
To promote close contact and interaction between persons following different branches and thus facilitate the development of a wider outlook and the integration and application of available scientific knowledge for the welfare of society.
To safeguard the interests of scientists generally and its members in particular and work for their welfare.

National Executive Committee & Chapters

The National Executive Committee (NEC) is elected once in 3 years. Senior members from various chapters are elected to the NEC and take active part in running the organization. Currently there are 23 chapters of IDA in various parts of the country. Each chapter has its own Local Executive Committee (LEC) which runs scientific programs and meetings at a convenient periodicity. IDA has over 13000 members pan India. All members of NEC and LEC work voluntarily for the betterment of the association and the profession.

Journal

IDA started its own scientific journal in 1963. It was named the “Journal of the Indian Dietetic Association”. The inaugural issue came out in December 1963 coinciding with the first Annual Convention of the Association. It was re-christened as “Applied Nutrition” in 1973. There are two issues which are published every year. The journal has been renamed as “Journal of the Indian Dietetic Association” (JIDA) in 2003.
For guidelines on submission of papers in the journal, Click here

Annual National Conference

Each year a national conference is organized by one of the 23 chapters of IDA. This is open to members and students of the profession. The conference duration is usually 2-3 days.

Registered Dietitian (RD) Board

The RD Board is actively involved in setting standards of practice for dietitians in clinical practice. The Board has developed a competency package for training the interns. The Board conducts an annual exam and those who pass the exam are allowed to use the title ‘RD’ after their name.

Awards and Prizes

At every national conference, the following awards and prizes are given away to the best candidate who is chosen by a panel of judges based on a number of criteria. Entries for these awards are usually called for when the conference details are announced by the hosting chapter.

Pratima Kaushik Award – Clinical Dietetics
Swaran Padak Award – Experimental Nutrition
IDA Award – Community Nutrition
IDA Award – Food Science / Technology
IDA Pune Chapter Award – Clinical Case Presentation
IDA President’s Award for Posters in
- Clinical Dietetics / Nutrition
- Experimental Nutrition
- Community Nutrition
- Food Science / Technology

Additionally, Prof Amiya Kumar Bose Memorial Lecture and Founders’ Oration are presented in the conference by high achievers in the field of food, nutrition or dietetics.

DIETETICS DAY

10th of January is observed as Dietetics Day. A theme is decided every year and all chapters take active part in spreading the message of nutrition and dietetics to the community.

The IDA Members and the Executive Committees at the National and Chapter levels are working towards the betterment of Nutrition & Dietetics profession.