Your illness and weight

Some patients with your illness may struggle to maintain a healthy body weight.

In people with your illness, unintended weight change can be caused by an inadequate consumption of essential nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, from food and drink.

Some people may notice that they gain weight, as their condition may limit how much physical activity they can do. Others may unintentionally lose weight as a result of reduced appetite, taste distortion, dry mouth or other symptoms of their condition or side effects of treatment.  

This page provides information about nutritional concerns, as well as eating and drinking well, to maintain a healthy body weight, but it is not intended to replace your medical team’s advice. If you have any concerns or questions about your health or condition, please speak to your healthcare professional. 

Why is maintaining a healthy body weight important?

Why is a balanced diet important?

A balanced diet can help maintain a healthy weight and ensure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs to work properly and support immune function. 

A balanced diet can be combined with pulmonary rehabilitation to help maintain muscle mass. You can talk to your medical team for a referral to start pulmonary rehabilitation if required.

 
A balanced diet supports healthy body functioning and reduces the risk of additional symptoms, various diseases and conditions. 

Why does weight change occur? 

Why does unintentional weight change occur?

You may have been experiencing unintentional weight loss as a result of a loss of appetite, difficulty in chewing, poor dental health, dry mouth and/or taste distortion, or weight gain because you are not able to move around as much.

Weight loss may also be exacerbated by the side effects from your OFEV® treatment, such as diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. 

How to manage factors contributing to unintentional weight change? 

There is no single, definite solution to resolve symptoms contributing to unintentional weight change. It is important to try and find out what works best for you.

The following pages provide recommendations and suggestions on what you can do to manage:

Diarrhoea

Persistent diarrhoea can hinder the absorption of important nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals. 

People who are being treated with OFEV® sometimes experience gastrointestinal side effects, such as diarrhoea. 

Inform your medical team if you have experienced diarrhoea. They may prescribe medicines and/or discontinue any laxatives that you might be on, as well as advise you on what else to consider when managing diarrhoea.

Diarrhoea can be managed effectively with loperamide, which is a common over-the-counter medicine, available at your local pharmacy.

If you have any concerns or questions, please speak to your medical team.

Speak to your medical team if you think your diet may be impacting your symptoms, as generalised dietary advice doesn’t work for everyone.

Nausea and vomiting

Nausea is the queasy feeling in the back of your throat or in your stomach. Left alone, nausea can cause vomiting.

Nausea and vomiting can result in dehydration, as well as a lack of appetite. It is important to discover ways to help you tolerate food intake and improve the experience. 

If you are vomiting, it is important to drink plenty of hydrating liquids during the day to replace the water in your body. 

Recommendation: Inform your doctor or nurse that you are experiencing nausea and/or vomiting. Ask your doctor or nurse if anti-sickness medications are appropriate.

Loss of appetite and taste

A lack of appetite can result in inadequate consumption of essential nutrients. Loss of taste and taste distortion can impair your eating habits or decrease your food intake, stopping you from consuming adequate nutrients your body needs to function.  

It is important to find ways for you to eat and ensure a balanced nutritional intake. 

Impact of Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D helps our body to absorb calcium and phosphate from our diet and is essential for healthy bones, teeth and muscles. 

Vitamin D is naturally present in a small number of foods, such as oily fish and red meat, but it is difficult for us to get the recommended amount of vitamin D through food alone. Our main source of vitamin D is from the action of direct sunlight on our skin when we are outdoors. 

During the autumn and winter months

The sun in the UK may not be strong enough for our body to make enough vitamin D. As such, Public Health England recommends adults to consider taking a daily supplement of vitamin D.

Dietary tips

Tips to gain, maintain or lose weight

Eating a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet is important, especially if you have lost your appetite or have unintentionally lost weight due to your condition.

Conversely, some people with PPF may gain weight due to the effect their condition has on their physical activity levels. For these people it is important to eat healthy but filling foods that are high in protein but low in sugars and fats. 

Additional information