Samenvatting

Malnutrition is a frequent problem in patients with head and neck cancer. Prevention or timely treatment of malnutrition is of great importance because deteriorated nutritional status can have a negative effect on clinical outcome in head and neck cancer patients. Malnutrition is a multidimensional problem, in which a nutritional disbalance causes loss of weight and muscle mass, either or not accompanied by inflammatory activity, resulting in functional decline. Thus far, little is known about the role of physical activity in both the development and treatment of malnutrition in cancer patients. Although positive effects of exercise on fatigue and quality of life have been reported, the relationship between physical activity and prevention and treatment of malnutrition needs to be further elucidated. In this presentation, current insights and hypotheses on the relationship between physical activity and nutritional status in patients with cancer will be discussed.