REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Expert opinion on standard of care in pediatric malnutrition: A multidisciplinary perspective focusing on the context of ABCDs
Provisionally accepted
Omer Faruk Beser1*
Kursat Bora Carman2
Fugen Cullu Cokugras1
Buket Dalgic3
Aydan Kansu4
Mehmet Kantar5
Hasan Ozen6
Hasan Tekgul5Bulent Unay7- 1Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 2Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir, Türkiye
- 3Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye
- 4Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye
- 5Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Türkiye
- 6Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye
- 7Gulhane Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye
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This review by a multidisciplinary panel of pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric neurology, and pediatric oncology experts aimed to address the standard of care in pediatric malnutrition in a context of ABCDs: A-Anthropometric assessment, B-Etiology-based evaluation, C-Nutritional Intervention & Treatment and D-Individualization & Restoration. The proposed standard of care in pediatric malnutrition involves routine assessment of growth and development at every pediatric visit, timely diagnosis and etiological classification of malnutrition, selection of optimal nutritional product meeting specific energy and protein requirements (such as energy-and protein-rich formulas with proteins constituting at least 10% of total calories), and implementation of appropriate nutritional intervention strategies tailored to the type and severity of malnutrition. These strategies may include stabilization, catch-up growth, nutritional rehabilitation, and restoration treatment using peptide-based enteral formulas, depending on the clinical context.
Keywords: Anthropometry, deepening malnutrition, Growth and Development, Growth Charts, MCT, Pediatric malnutrition, peptide-based formula, Protein-rich formula
Received: 28 Nov 2025; Accepted: 27 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Beser, Carman, Cullu Cokugras, Dalgic, Kansu, Kantar, Ozen, Tekgul and Unay. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Omer Faruk Beser
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