Fat Diet

Question

Hello,

I am mother of a little boy with Cystic Fibrosis. I was just wondering if eating so fat could not be bad for his health. Indeed, to date there are only a few adults with cystic fibrosis so they are not affected by cholesterol, clogged arteries ... (what happens when you eat too much fat?) and there is little perspective on the evolution of the disease in adults? Is it not dangerous in the long term eating too fat? Are there studies on this?

Thank you.

Answer

Hello,
It is important to have an optimal nutritional status in cystic fibrosis. Nutritional status is correlated to changes in respiratory function. The body mass index (BMI) is a good indicator and the goal is to have a Z score of zero.
Two main factors are risk factors for malnutrition: pancreatic insufficiency and respiratory disease with bronchial inflammation. The high-fat diet is justified because of malapsortion of fat and despite the intake of pancreatic enzymes, absorption remains abnormal in part to the low bicarbonate secretion by the pancreas. On the other hand, the fat provides more calories as sugars and proteins.
Studies highlight obesity cases primarily in pancreatic sufficient patients (90%). It is important to regularly monitor the BMI to avoid that it becomes too high and prevent obesity by adapting dietary advice when overweight appears. In a recent study, young adult patients with overweight/obesity had not traits of the metabolic syndrome.
Best regards.
Pr Michel Abely

References:
Panagopoulou P, Maria F, Nikolaou A, Nousia-Arvanitakis S. in Pediatr Int. 2013 Sep 4: "Prevalence of Malnutrition and Obesity Among Cystic Fibrosis Patients."

03.02.2014