LIVING WITH COPD

WHY STRONG MUSCLES AND GOOD NUTRITION ARE IMPORTANT

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IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISORDER (COPD), you will be familiar with the breathing difficulties it causes, along with symptoms like coughing, phlegm build-up, chest infections, and wheezing.1
 

This page introduces the importance of nutrition and muscle health to help you manage your COPD. It provides guidance and information on how to get the right nutrition and support to keep you strong and healthy.  

Bad nutrition IconMALNUTRITION, MUSCLE HEALTH AND COPD

Malnutrition is when the body doesn’t get enough energy and/or nutrients to work properly. This is usually because of sickness, injuries, or not feeling as hungry as you usually would.2,3 

Muscle health iconWHY STRONG MUSCLES ARE IMPORTANT IF YOU HAVE COPD?

Did you know that breathing can take 10x more energy for people who have COPD?4

Getting all of the right protein, energy, vitamins and minerals and having strong muscles can help make it easier to breathe and can support your overall wellbeing. But COPD can cause changes in the body, which can weaken and shrink your muscles, which can make it harder to breathe and can make your COPD symptoms worse.2 People with COPD sometimes find it hard to eat because of their COPD symptoms, which means a lot of the time, they don’t get the nutrients their bodies need.2,5

This might lead to:

More trips to the hospital6

Increased risk of COPD flare-ups5

Not being able to exercise much7

Other health problems8

Question icon DID YOU KNOW?

Healthy food Icon

 HOW CAN WHAT YOU EAT HELP WITH YOUR COPD?


Getting the right protein, energy, vitamins and minerals can be really important for helping you to manage your COPD.

Good nutrition can help stop your muscles from getting weaker or smaller, make sure you have a healthy weight,2 and give you more energy.11

If you are losing weight, your muscles are getting weaker, or you have signs that you are becoming malnourished, you should speak to your healthcare professional (e.g. GP, nurse, dietitian) right away. Whilst weight loss is one sign that you may be malnourished, it isn’t the only symptom, and you don’t have to be underweight to experience malnutrition.

LOOK OUT FOR THESE SYMPTOMS OF MALNUTRITION AND LOSING MUSCLE:3

Feeling tired or weak

Low mood or depression

Weight loss

Clothing or jewellery
feeling loose

Not feeling hungry

If you see any of these signs, speak to a healthcare professional, who can check whether you are getting the nutrients you need to help you stay strong and healthy.

If they believe that you have, or are at risk of developing, malnutrition or muscle loss, your healthcare professional might give you tips for what to eat to get more of the key nutrients you need to stay strong (particularly if you are having a COPD flare-up).

In cases where weight loss or muscle loss is a little more severe, they may recommend nutritional support in the form of nutritional supplements (sometimes called oral nutritional supplements or sip feeds) in order to help provide the calories, protein and other important vitamins and minerals that your body needs, even if you might not feel well enough to eat or exercise.

muscle loss

References:

1. NHS, 2023. COPD. Available online: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-copd/. Last accessed October 2023.
2. 
Malnutrition Pathway, 2020. Managing Malnutrition in COPD: Including a pathway for the appropriate use of ONS to support community healthcare professionals. Available online: https://www.malnutritionpathway.co.uk/library/mm_copd.pdf. Last accessed August 2021. 3. NHS, 2020. Malnutrition. Available online: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/malnutrition/. Last accessed April 2023.
4. American Lung Association, 2023. Nutrition and COPD. Available online: https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/living-with-copd/nutrition Last accessed October 2023
5. Itoh M et al. Nutrients 2013;5:1316-1335.
6. Barreiro E & Jaitovich AJ. Journ Thorac Dis 2018;10(12):S1415-S1424.
7. Passey SL. et al. Pharmacol Ther 2016;56-70.
8. Fekete M et al. Physiology International 2021;108(2):238-250
9. Abdulai RM et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2018;15;197(4):433-449
10.  Mete B, et al. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2018 Oct 11;13:3307-3312.
11. Rawal G & Yadav S. Journ of Trans Int Med 2015;3(4):151–154.

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