Invited Review Nutrition Issues in Pediatric Crohn’s Disease

ABSTRACT: Twenty-five percent of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) diagnoses present in childhood, with Crohn’s disease (CD) being the most common type. Many children have poor nutrition status at presentation of the disease, which may worsen during the clinical course, with a significant number of children having impaired linear growth. The cause of this poor nutrition status is complex, and contributing factors include inadequate intake, malabsorption, altered energy demands, and losses through stool, particularly in colitis. The principal aim of medical management is to induce disease remis-sion, with minimal side effects, thereby enabling normal growth and development. This must include active consid-eration of the nutrition needs of such children and how they may be best met. However, our understanding of th