[For what we need clinical nutrition].

Clinical nutrition covers a wide range of specialties of medicine. There is a need for better nutritional support in prevention of chronic diseases, investigations to assess malnutrition, dietetics including artificial nutrition and rehabilitation as well as supportive care for the severely and terminally ill patients. Clinical nutrition follows the principles of evidence-based medicine. In future the training of doctors in human nutrition has to be further improved. Since nothing works well in isolation an integration of clinical nutrition into gastroenterology is recommended.