Plenary 2

In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), weight loss and being under-weight are associated with a poor prognosis and increased mortality, independent of disease severity.  Recent systematic reviews of nutritional intervention in COPD suggest there may be some benefits in terms of dietary intake, weight change and functional status however, these results need to be confirmed by larger studies.  Acknowledging the multi-factorial causes of malnutrition and impaired function in this population, more research is needed where nutrition forms a clearly-defined part of a multi-component intervention