[More consideration to dietary protein in the nutrition of chronically ill adults with tendency to weight loss].

Weight loss is an independent risk factor for mortality in chronically ill weight-losing patients. Hunger strikers and chronically ill patients die after a weight loss of about 40%; weight loss is strongly correlated with loss of lean body mass. Lean body mass is determined by protein synthesis and protein breakdown. Increased supply of amino acids diminishes loss of lean body mass. It is advisable to increase the protein content of the diet of chronically ill weight-losing patients to the level that maximally stimulates protein synthesis, i.e. 1.5 g protein/kg/day.