[The significance of nutrition for muscular function after surgery]

Major surgery is accompanied by weight loss and reduced muscular strength; the weight loss can be lessened by giving protein- and energy-rich supplements during the postoperative period. Large weight losses always reduce muscular function, but when can it be expected that a weight loss has importance for the muscular function of surgical patients? This review argues that for patients undergoing gastro-intestinal surgery weight losses of more than 10% can be expected to impair muscular function; the impact of weight losses below 10% has not been studied much. It is dubious whether a small weight loss would be of importance for muscular function, however, the muscular function of very old patients may be particularly vulnerable to weight loss due to the reduction in skeletal muscle mass in old age.