Healthy eating for people with disability

Apart from nutritional sustenance, eating is important for so many reasons. For some of us, it provides pleasure. For some of us, it enables performance. For many of us, it's a social activity. For people with disability, healthy eating can have some unique considerations.

For a person with a spinal cord injury, for example, the daily energy (kilojoule/calorie) intake is less compared to a person without a spinal cord injury. In this context, undesired weight gain can be an issue for people with spinal cord injury. It is critical to have a nutrient rich diet that covers the 5 food groups and that supplies all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients the body needs, whilst keeping the energy level in check. 

Someone with Huntington's disease on the other hand, requires a far higher energy (kilojoule/calorie) intake and undesired weight loss can be a challenge. A healthy weight can also be different, not in line with the general standards like a Body Mass Index (BMI). 

Then, when it comes to disability, the best way to figure out how much to eat, and what weight range to target is to consult an Accredited Practising Dietitian in conjunction with a general practitioner or rehabilitation physician.

It doesn't stop there.

The importance of fruit and vegetables

Our Living Healthy Report 2023 shows Australian adults are purchasing only 2.6 serves of the recommended 5 serves of vegetables per day and 1.6 serves of the recommended daily fruit intake. Other data estimates that only one in twenty of all Australians eat the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables daily. Further, it's hypothesised that globally, people with disability experience sub-optimal nutrition compared to the general population. This places them at an increased risk of chronic diseases, which is critical to prevent.

Consider children with autism, for example. Some literature suggests that the intake of fruit and vegetables is lower in children who have autism, compared to those who do not have autism. We need to ensure that children with autism are getting the recommended daily servings of these important food groups. Some research also suggests that children with autism prefer foods with high carbohydrate content like white bread, pizza, cakes, cookies, ice-cream, or “fatty” foods. Moderating the intake of these foods can play an important role in reducing long-term health issues.

It can be challenging for people and in particular children to try new foods and expand their food repertoire. Here are some tips on introducing new foods. 

Tips in trying new foods

To give us all the best chance of accepting a new food, evidence has shown that repeated exposure is needed, with some children (and adults,) requiring up to 15 times to accept a new food. Start with exploring the food, smelling, feeling it and then tasting. Giver permission that they may not like the new food the first few times and that they don’t have to eat it. Offer small tastes of the new food and with a food they like, continue to offer the new foods even if refused on several occasions.

Making bitter foods like vegetables taste nicer can also help. Roasting vegetables with some extra virgin olive oil can enhance the natural sweetness e.g. pumpkin, sweet potato, capsicums, zucchini and carrots can all taste sweeter.

Adding herbs, spices and garlic and frying various vegetables together in the pan with some oil can also enhance the flavours. A stir fry is a great dish to try. 

Every disability is different

It’s important to note that every disability is different. Every person is different. 

For people with a disability who, say, experience a different bowel regimen, managing it with an individually tailored diet and water intake prevents, in the extremes, life-threatening issues like a bowel blockage. For people that have mobility changes from multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury, the risk of cardiovascular disease may increase. For someone with cystic fibrosis, the diet needs to be individualised and optimised again.

And so, everyone with a disability is different, just like every human being is different. Food brings joy to life through social or personal satisfaction. However, it is important to kick-start that healthy relationship with food with personalised expert advice from an accredited practising dietitian and general practitioner as a starting point, so that we can live a long, happy, healthy and productive life.

Tips:

1. Offer new foods multiple times and realise it can take many tries to like a new food
2. Eat mindfully, minimising distraction so you can be more in tune with your appetite 
3. Have water as the main drink to stay hydrated. It is the best drink for your teeth and doesn’t have any sugar.
4. Aim for 2 fruit and 5 vegetables serves a day in a variety of colours to help hit nutrient targets for the day
5. Include protein foods throughout the day. They can help maintain our muscle mass, particularly important if physical activity is limited. 

Reviewed by the healthylife Advisory Board April 2023.