A diet containing over 4000 calories per day.
A diet that contains more calories than normally required for an individual’s metabolic and energy needs and therefore places the individual in positive energy balance. The diet should include three meals plus between meal feedings, avoiding fermentable and bulky foods. A high-calorie diet may be used to prevent weight loss in wasting diseases, in high basal metabolism, and after a long illness; in deficiency caused by anorexia, poverty, and poor dietary habits; and during lactation (when an extra 1000 and 1200 kcal each day are indicated).