From Challenges to Change: Elevating Diet Quality for Optimal Health Following Spinal Cord Injuries/disorders 4212

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM

Location: ROOM: Buckingham Room >>> DIRECTIONS: Lobby Level >>> From the Main Elevator Bank, proceed right toward the FedEx Office. Turn right just before the FedEx Office and continue down the corridor. Turn right before the Continental Foyer. The Buckingham Room is located to your right, just before the Men's Room.

Presenter(s)

Jia Li

Research Scientist
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Slides Slides
Ceren Yarar-Fisher, PT, PhD

Associate Professor/ Vice Chair of Research
Ohio State University
Columbus, OH, United States
Sherri LaVela, PhD, MPH, MBA

Research Health Scientist & Research Professor
Department of Veterans Affairs & Northwestern University
Hines, Illinois, United States
Allen W. Heinemann, PhD FACRM (he/him/his)

Professor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois, United States

This symposium explores how food access, eating behaviors, and metabolic health interact to shape outcomes after spinal cord injury (SCI). The session opens with an overview of key factors influencing food access and food security in individuals with SCI, including sociodemographic, environmental, and practical considerations. The relationship between food access and security with obesity will also be discussed.

Next, findings from a recent study reveal that nearly two-thirds of individuals with SCI/D engage in food avoidance behaviors. Presenters will describe characteristics associated with these behaviors and their links to chronic conditions, secondary complications, and psychosocial outcomes. Reasons such as reduced appetite, digestive discomfort, and intentional restriction for weight control will be explored to highlight how these behaviors influence nutritional status and overall health.

The symposium concludes with new insights into how SCI affects metabolic function and gut microbiome composition, and how specific dietary approaches—such as high-protein, low-carbohydrate, and ketogenic diets—may support improved metabolic, neurological, and microbial outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate diet quality in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury • Define food access developed by the USDA and examine racial inequity in food access among individuals with spinal cord injury • Identify at least 3 systemic and environmental barriers to healthy eating in individuals with disability and discuss potential solutions
• Describe demographic and injury characteristics associated with food avoidance in persons with SCI/D and identify disparities and subgroups at risk. • Describe chronic conditions, SCI secondary complications, and mental health/psychosocial outcomes associated with food avoidance in persons with SCI/D. • Discuss potential consequences and implications of food avoidance behaviors in persons with SCI/D.
• Identify the adverse effects of SCI on metabolic function and microbiome composition. • Evaluate the impact of o High protein low carbohydrate diets on metabolic function and gut microbiome composition and function and circulating metabolites. o Ketogenic diet on neurorecovery and microbiome composition and function