Nutrition in children with kidney disease: pitfalls of popular assessment methods

Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are considered at high risk for protein-energy malnutrition. Clinical practice guidelines generally recommend an evaluation of numerous nutritional parameters to give a complete and accurate picture of nutritional status. This review summarizes the potential limitations of commonly used methods of nutritional assessmentin the setting of CKD. Unrecognized fluid overload and inappropriate normalization of body composition measures are the most important factors leading to misinterpretation of the nutritional assessment in CKD. The importance of expressing body composition measures relative to height or height-age in a population in whom short stature and pubertal delay are highly prevalent is emphasized. The limitations of growth as a marker for nutritional status are also addressed. In addition, the prevailing belief that children with CKD are at high risk for malnutrition is challenged.