We provide nutrition services on both an outpatient and inpatient basis, depending on our patients’ needs.

Outpatient Nutrition Counseling

One-on-one counseling with a registered dietitian is available with a physician’s referral. Nutrition counseling may be covered by insurance, but families should check with their child’s insurance provider to confirm coverage. Our nutrition consultations may include meal planning, nutrition assessments, monitoring tools, growth evaluations and child/family nutrition education. We help families treat common conditions in children, such as:

• Poor weight gain/growth and malnutrition
• Picky eating
• Constipation
• Food allergies/intolerance
• Tube feeding assessments
• General nutrition.

Nutrition is also a key component of a number of other conditions a child may have. Our registered dietitians provide nutrition services as part of a multidisciplinary team in many CHOC specialty clinics and programs, including:

• Cardiology
• Early Developmental Assessment Center
• Eosinophilic Esophagitis Clinic
• Endocrine/Diabetes
• Feeding Program
• Gastroenterology
• Intestinal Rehabilitation Program
• Hyundai Cancer Institute
• Immune Deficiency Syndrome
• Ketogenic Diet Clinic
• Lipid Clinic
• Metabolic Clinic
• Nephrology/Kidney Disorders
• NEW You/Obesity
• Pulmonology/Cystic Fibrosis
• Spina Bifida Clinic.

Inpatient Nutrition Services

Our dietitians are an important part of a child’s care team while he or she is staying with us in the hospital. We provide comprehensive nutrition services for patients of all ages according to medical need. These services include:

• Screening patients for nutritional risks
• Assessing nutritional needs and making recommendations on how to meet them
• Making recommendations for infant feedings, including breast milk, formula or enteral/tube feeding products
• Managing the care of patients receiving parenteral nutrition (IV nutrition)
• Providing nutrition education and diet instructions for families.

Healthy Lifestyle Classes

Nutrition, physical activity and behavior choices are very important when it comes to a child’s health. At CHOC Children’s, we work closely with children and their families to develop healthy lifestyles and prevent serious conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Learn more about our nutrition and lifestyle classes.