Key points:
- Adelaide personal trainer Norm Low claimed to be a dietitian
- Two diet plans he created were assessed as possibly dangerous
- He has been banned from providing diet advice
A personal trainer in Adelaide has been permanently banned from providing diet advice to clients.
Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner Grant Davies found Norman Low had falsely claimed to be a qualified dietitian.
He also found Mr Low “provided inappropriate and unsafe plans to consumers which were fundamentally flawed, not backed by science, inappropriate, unsafe and were not developed by a dietitian”.
Associate Professor Davies found Mr Low was an unacceptable risk to the public in providing dietary or nutrition advice.
Analysis of two of his diet plans found they contained medically unethical recommendations and lacked any scientific basis.
“These plans are dangerous and are not based in science,” Associate Professor Davies said.
“It appears they were not tailored for a consumer’s individual needs and the evidence shows they put the people following them at serious risk.
“Mr Low’s assertion that he was an accredited dietitian was blatantly false and mispresented his expertise.
“To protect the public, I have issued this order and I strongly recommend anyone still using these plans to consult an accredited dietitian.”
Two diet plans assessed
The commissioner found Mr Low’s advice to one client who wanted to lose weight would have resulted in the person gaining 0.5–1 kilogram per week.
They would also have had “a significant decline in the nutrient status of some major micronutrients” and had “a great risk to developing iron deficiency and potentially anaemia if the plan was followed for more than a month”.
Another meal plan was “significantly below the person’s required energy, protein and carbohydrate requirements which could impact exercise performance, physical health and wellbeing as well as be detrimental to nutrient stores”, Association Professor Davies found.
He said Mr Low “recommended doses of fish oil and vitamin C could result in poor tolerance, blood thinning and gastric reflux. The recommendation appeared to be made without any prior screening, being extremely poor and dangerous practice”.
He also prescribed drinking 9.25 litres of water per day and stopping all medication, which was “a medically unethical, illegal and inappropriate recommendation”.
Mr Low was temporarily banned from claiming he was a dietitian in September while an investigation was underway.
He can still provide personal training services.
On his Instagram page, he said he was now working at a gym in Morphett Vale after ” a small hiatus” from personal training.
Article Credit: ABC News
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