Nutritional support at the end of life: the relevant ethical issues

This article attempts to summarize the ethics of nutritional support at the end of life. Although ethics are timeless, they have to be applied or adapted to new situations arising from our ability to prolong life by the application of relatively new nutritional treatments. The application of the law, and guidance from professional bodies on withholding or withdrawing treatment remains an emotive challenge for all involved in nutritional care and for society as a whole.