Managing Undernutrition

Children and young people with neuromuscular disorders can sometimes have difficulty gaining weight or may have lost weight.

Weight loss occurs when the body is having less food than it needs. This can happen when children and young people have weakened eating muscles and tire easily at mealtimes. Some young people may also find it difficult to bring food to their mouth due to weakened arm muscles.

Weakened swallowing muscles may mean it is unsafe to eat some foods. If your child is experiencing swallowing problems, it is important to see a Speech and Language Pathologist who can provide advice on appropriate and safe food and liquids.

There are many different strategies to assist children and young people to gain weight. Selecting foods that are an appropriate texture can make eating easier. There are also a range of food and drink fortification strategies that aim to increase protein and calorie intake as well as commercial nutrition supplement drinks that may be useful.

Sometimes alternative strategies are used to help children and young people receive adequate nutrition. For example, a PEG tube may be discussed. PEG tubes are feeding tubes that go directly into the stomach. A PEG tube would be considered if food and drink fortification strategies are not helping, or if a child or young person is at risk of malnutrition and/or dehydration. A PEG would also be recommended if a child or young person was unable to swallow safely.