Does a person with cerebral palsy burn more calories than a person who doesn’t have the condition?
Options
miahurst_
Community member Posts: 1 Listener
Hope you’re all well, does a person with cerebral palsy burn more calories than a person who doesn’t have the condition?
Comments
-
Hi @miahurst_ and welcome to the Community. It's nice to meet you and thank you for your interesting question. I'm afraid that I'm unable to answer this, sorry, as I don't have Cerebral Palsy myself, but we do have members on the forum who do have Cerebral Palsy and they maybe able to help you with this. We also have a Cerebral Palsy Information Officer, @Richard_Scope, who maybe able to assist you also and I will tag him in so that he can get in touch with you. Meantime, I hope you enjoy your time with us on the forum. All the best.
@Richard_Scope, would you be able to answer this member's question as above? Thanks, @Ails.Winner of the Scope New Volunteer Award 2019. -
Hi @miahurst - Welcome to the community with your interesting query. I'm OK, thank you. I hope you are keeping well. I could well imagine that, depending on the type of CP, either involuntary movement, or increased muscle tone, might result in this. Also it can be harder to mobilise, due to the increased tone in some muscles.I have a genetic disorder where I have unstable joints due to ligaments which allow a range of movement outside the normal range. My muscles have to perhaps work harder to keep my joints in place than someone without my disorder. I have also always been underweight, as is my adult son, who has the same disorder. There might be some similarities, but with any group of people with a disorder there would likely be some variation.I will ask Scope's Specialist Information Officer on CP for his help. @Richard_Scope please can you advise here, thank you.
-
Hi @miahurst, great to have you on the community and to meet you.
Cerebral Palsy is a neurological condition where no two cases present the same. The effects are unique to the individual. That said, there is evidence that people living with CP burn 3 to 5 times more energy when moving or performing tasks than non-CP people. This would also depend on how mobile the person with CP is, in the first place. So sadly for me, it's not an invitation to eat what I want!
Scope
Specialist Information Officer and Cerebral Palsy Programme Lead'Concerned about another member's safety or wellbeing? Flag your concerns with us.'
Want to tell us about your experience in the community? Talk to our chatbot and let us know. -
-
My son has athetoid CP so is never still, and in fact it takes energy to stay still! He is very light for his height and on calorie supplements and full fat everything! We have always been told that he probably burns almost double the calories of someone his age etc without CP
-
Hi @miahurst_,
Welcome to the community and thank you for this interesting question. Though I am unable to give a factual answer to this, what I can say is, from experience, that having CP and moving does take up lots of energy. I mainly use a wheelchair but at home I use two elbow crutches and this causes me to become very tired and use up lots of energy. Due to my lack of mobility, I also have to watch what I eat though I have always been quite small in size, both height and weight, so it's a really interesting question to think about. It is important to remember though that CP affects no two people in the same way. Sorry I can't be of anymore help. Thank you.
Brightness
Categories
- All Categories
- 13.1K Start here and say hello!
- 6.7K Coffee lounge
- 70 Games lounge
- 386 Cost of living
- 4.3K Disability rights and campaigning
- 1.9K Research and opportunities
- 200 Community updates
- 9.3K Talk about your situation
- 2.1K Children, parents, and families
- 1.6K Work and employment
- 771 Education
- 1.7K Housing and independent living
- 1.4K Aids, adaptations, and equipment
- 590 Dating, sex, and relationships
- 363 Exercise and accessible facilities
- 739 Transport and travel
- 31.8K Talk about money
- 4.4K Benefits and financial support
- 5.2K Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- 17.2K PIP, DLA, and AA
- 5K Universal Credit (UC)
- 6.2K Talk about your impairment
- 1.8K Cerebral palsy
- 872 Chronic pain and pain management
- 181 Physical and neurological impairments
- 1.1K Autism and neurodiversity
- 1.2K Mental health and wellbeing
- 317 Sensory impairments
- 819 Rare, invisible, and undiagnosed conditions