Dietary preferences of patients with anorexia nervosa and cancer patients versus dietary recommendation for malnutrition treatment

Abstract

Objectives Malnutrition is an important clinical problem, particularly among patients struggling with emaciating diseases, determined somatically (such as cancer disease) or mentally (such as eating disorder anorexia nervosa). The aim of the study is the analysis of anorexic (AN) and oncological patients’ (with the malignant tumour) (ON) preferences in terms of patterns of a diet aimed at malnutrition treatment and assessment of the degree of compliance with current dietary recommendations for malnutrition treatment. Material and methods The survey included 119 malnourished patients; 43.69% (n=52) of patients suffered from AN and 56.31% (n=67) were patients from group O. An original questionnaire for the measurement of eating habits was used for the study. Results Among the listed dietary patterns, only 38.51% (n=26) of ON patients and 32.69% (n=17) of AN patients indicated the diet features that are consistent with the recommendations. Compared to ON patients, patients with AN over six times more frequently chose the incorrect features of the diet (p<0.0001), including low-calorie, low-fat and vegetarian diet. Conclusions The study revealed incorrect expectations about dietary treatment. The results indicate the necessity for correction misconceptions towards nutrition in malnourished patients and to increase their nutritional knowledge, thereby increasing the availability of dietetic services for this group of patients.

Keywords

• anorexia nervosa
• cancer
• malnutrition
• dietary treatment