Question

Case Study: Fatigue with a Vitamin-Poor Diet

Samuel is a 63-year-old single man who works full time in a food processing plant. He has a history of alcohol abuse and esophageal cancer, which was treated successfully with anti-cancer drugs and surgery four years ago. His weight had been stable at 135 pounds until the past 6 months, in which he has experienced an involuntary weight loss of 10 pounds. He is 67 inches tall and his current BMI is 19.5. He complains of a poor appetite and being overly weak and tired. He also complains of cracks at the corners of his mount and a chronic sore throat which concerns him, given his cancer history. His usual diet is fairly consistent. He states that he rarely eats breakfast because he starts work at 6 a.m. He eats two deli meat sandwiches, “usually pastrami or salami,” and a soda at 10 a.m., and may eat a candy bar in the afternoon when he gets off work. He often prepares frozen dinners or pizza at home in the evening and routinely drinks “about 4 or 5 beers” before going to bed. Occasionally he will cook a roast and mashed potatoes. He occasionally will have milk with cereal but rarely eats vegetables or fruit. He would like to know which vitamin supplement will give him energy.

What specific advice would you give Samuel to help him stabilize his weight, increase his energy level and improve his overall wellbeing?

Answer 1

First of all , I will provide Samuel health education about a healthy well balanced diet and tell him about the importance of taking vegetables ,fruits and other food products than having supplements as supplements cause many side effects. Then I will assess his weight , height and BMI for preparing a diet chart in consultation with the dietician to increase his energy level and improve his overall well-being . Advice him to have regular follow up visit and if there is need for any supplements then after taking advice from the physician it will be added in consultation with the dietician .