Related Experiment Videos
The effect of nutritional supplements on food intake in patients undergoing radiotherapy
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Purpose/Objectives:
To describe the effect of nutritional supplements on food intake in patients undergoing radiotherapy.
Design:
Experimental prospective.
Sample:
40 newly diagnosed patients with cancer beginning external beam radiation therapy.
Methods:
Weekly dietary counseling and recording of total daily dietary intake for three days a week for four weeks. One half of the subjects were randomly assigned to ingest a liquid nutritional supplement between meals and at bedtime.
Main Research Variables:
Total daily protein and caloric intake, food-derived protein and caloric intake, and supplement-derived protein and caloric intake.
Findings:
Subjects ingesting nutritional supplements between meals significantly increased their total caloric and protein intake above that of controls and did not reduce their food-derived caloric or protein intake compared to controls.
Conclusions:
Nutritional supplements can be used to increase total caloric and protein intake without causing a significant reduction in food intake.
Implications For Nursing Practice:
In this patient sample, supplements were not substituted for food intake. Further research is needed to determine the effects of supplements on appetite in patients with advanced cancer.