medicalnutrition

Medical nutrition is the branch of healthcare focused on the role of nutrition in the prevention, management, and treatment of disease. It integrates nutrition science, dietetics, and medical care to optimize nutritional status and clinical outcomes across patient populations.

Core activities include assessment of nutritional status (weight history, body composition, biochemical markers, functional status), calculation of energy and protein requirements, and development of individualized nutrition care plans. Interventions may involve dietary modification, oral nutrition support, and, when necessary, enteral or parenteral nutrition. Diet therapy is tailored to specific conditions such as renal failure, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, and critical illness.

Clinical nutrition teams—often including registered dietitians, physicians, nurses, and pharmacists—work within hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, and home care to monitor tolerance, adherence, and outcomes, adjusting plans as disease status changes. Nutrition support aims to prevent malnutrition, preserve lean body mass, modulate inflammation, and improve functional status and recovery.

Evidence base comprises guidelines and statements from professional bodies (such as ESPEN and ASPEN) and a body of randomized and observational studies. Safety considerations include risk of refeeding syndrome, overfeeding, electrolyte disturbances, and nutrient-drug interactions, as well as ethical and cost considerations in resource-limited settings.

Education and research in medical nutrition pursue standardized training for clinicians, development of validated screening tools, and trials evaluating nutrition interventions across conditions and care settings.