Being bedridden is a frustrating and sometimes painful experience that occurs in many people's lifetimes for one reason or another. Their whole life is suddenly changed; they can no longer walk, drive, work, go shopping or do most of the activities they used to find pleasurable. Another change is that exercise and even moderate daily physical activity are eliminated. This often leads to a major adjustment in daily caloric requirements.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories a person would burn per day if his body were at complete rest--the calories needed for the brain and other vital organs to continue functioning, without any allocation for physical activity. Basal metabolic rate depends on a person's sex, age, height and weight. You can find out your own BMR using an online calculator like the one on health.discovery.com. Input your statistics, and the calculator tells you how many calories you would burn each day if you were bedridden. In general, to maintain their weight, people on complete bed rest should match their caloric consumption to their BMR.
Pregnancy
A woman is sometimes placed on complete bed rest during the final stages of her pregnancy in order to prevent preterm labor and protect the baby. When this happens, her caloric needs change. Though she will require fewer calories than if she were physically active, she still needs extra calories to help her baby grow and stay healthy. According to win.niddk.nih.gov, pregnant women need to consume about 300 extra calories each day during the final six months of their pregnancy. Therefore a pregnant bedridden woman can calculate her BMR and then add about 300 calories to estimate how much she should eat.
Healing
According to CWI Medical, people who have wounds, burns or injuries or who have had surgery require extra calories to heal. Although the amount each person needs depends entirely on his own situation, it is clear people on bed rest who are healing should not be restricting calories severely or dieting. In fact, a study recently published in The Journals of Gerontology showed that elderly women bedridden for long periods of time developed bed sores, also known as pressure sores. These sores became open wounds that increased the women's BMR, meaning they required more calories for healing.
Too Many or Too Few Calories
Consuming a diet too low in calories during complete bed rest may compromise the patient's immune system. This is especially concerning if the person is injured or recovering from surgery because it may lengthen healing time. The situation becomes more difficult when the bedridden person is obese. The medical goal would be to keep her from gaining weight, but at the same time not drop the calories low enough to increase healing time or risk of illness.
Caloric Distribution
According to the Food and Nutrition Board, the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDRs) for healthy individuals are ranges of percentiles that people's dietary intakes of macronutrients should fall under. For instance, the AMDR for fat is 20 to 35 percent, meaning 20 to 35 percent of daily calories should come from fat. The AMDR for carbohydrates for healthy adults is 45 to 65 percent, and that for protein is 10 to 35 percent. Needs for macronutrients may vary depending on the reason a patient is bedridden. For example, healthspaninstitute.com says patients healing from an injury, a wound or surgery may need to consume 35 percent or more of their calories as protein.
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