Does a person with cerebral palsy burn more calories than a person who doesn’t have the condition?

miahurst_

Hope you’re all well, does a person with cerebral palsy burn more calories than a person who doesn’t have the condition? 

Ails

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. 

chiarieds

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.

Richard_Scope

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!
 

Chloe_Alumni

Welcome to the community @miahurst_.

forgoodnesssake

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

WestHam06

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.