Author: Williams S et. al.
Source: Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002. 102; 405-407.
This study looked at how children who follow the ketogenic diet may possibly have an impact on their growth potential for height. The ketogenic diet is used to treat uncontrollable seizure activity from epilepsy. The basis of this diet is that there is three to five times more fat in the diet than protein and carbohydrates. In addition, the total amount of calories per day and amount of fluid are limited. This diet should be carefully calculated using specific ratios by a dietitian so the child knows how much they can eat at one time. It must be followed exactly to prevent seizures from returning. When followed diligently, this diet has been found to control intractable seizures in many children and eliminates the need for many seizure medications that can cause a child to feel poorly and potentially interfere with their learning and development. The average length of time a child stays on the diet varies from a few months to years (the average is 2 years).
Although the entire basis of this treatment involves changing one?s diet, very few studies have looked at how the diet affects nutrition status in children over time.
This study reviewed medical charts of 21 children who had followed the ketogenic diet to determine if the children?s height percentiles on the growth chart dropped during or after they were on the diet. An average of 4 height measurements were looked at during the chart review, and the average length of time the children stayed on the diet was 1.2 years.
Eighteen or 86% of the height percentiles on the growth chart fell during the time the children were on the diet. Other factors, such as amount of protein and calories eaten (and other factors that could effect this decline, but need to be limited in the diet) were considered, and found to be within acceptable ranges for each child. The results suggest that following the ketogenic diet to treat seizures can negatively affect a child?s nutrition status by altering how tall they may grow in height.
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