Nutritional support for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) primarily affects the bronchopulmonary system, but due to systemic inflammation, many extrapulmonary effects occur that involve complex physical and metabolic adaptations. Physical and metabolic changes are reduced physical activity, changes in metabolic processes, changes in diet. As a result, wasting in COPD is multi-faceted and can involve imbalances of energy (weight loss), protein (sarcopenia), and periods of markedly increased inflammation (pulmonary cachexia) which can increase nutritional losses. To date, data from systematic reviews and the results of meta-analyses prove that nutritional support can overcome energy, protein and nutrient imbalances, which leads to an improvement in the condition of COPD patients both in the acute periods of the disease and in remission.