PEN® System: Newly Designed. Ready for You.
PEN
® eNews is a monthly e-newsletter shared with the global PEN Community and created to help dietitians position themselves as leaders in evidence-based nutrition practice. In addition, users of the PEN System will find articles on the new evidence, resources and features available and how to maximize one's use of PEN.
This month marks a milestone for the PEN® System. After months of listening to feedback, testing, and refining, we're proud to welcome our members to the redesigned PEN System — the most significant evolution of our platform in years.
Every change, from the reorganized Knowledge Pathways to the search bar now front and centre on the homepage, was shaped by what practitioners told us would make daily practice easier.
This issue also features updated evidence on nutrition's role in COPD management and a client handout, Eating Well with COPD, ready for your next patient conversation.
Thank you for being part of the PEN community. We hope the new system helps you turn evidence into better outcomes for the people you care for.
Warmly,
The PEN Team
Discover the New PEN® System Experience
A faster, more intuitive experience built on your feedback
After months of beta testing and thoughtful development, we are thrilled to announce that the redesigned PEN System is officially live. This is the most significant update to the PEN website in years, and it has been shaped from the ground up by feedback from practitioners like you.
Whether you use the PEN System daily to support your clinical practice or turn to it when a complex case lands on your desk, you will notice the difference immediately. Here is what has changed and what it means for how you work.
A Modern, Accessible Design
The new PEN website features a clean, contemporary visual design with improved colour contrast and updated typography. These changes are not just aesthetic. They reflect our commitment to accessibility, making PEN content easier to read, navigate, and use across all devices, whether you are at your desk, on a tablet, or looking something up between appointments.
Simplified Navigation
The menu structure has been streamlined so that getting to the content you need takes fewer clicks. Rather than working through a complex series of dropdowns, you will find a clear, focused navigation built around the way practitioners actually move through the platform.
Redesigned Knowledge Pathways
This is one of the most meaningful changes in the new PEN System, and it reflects directly what users told us in feedback sessions. Knowledge Pathways have been fully reorganized to bring the most practice-relevant content forward, structured in the order you would actually need it when working with a patient or client.
Importantly, Nutrition Care Process tools are now integrated directly into pathway navigation rather than treated as separate toolkits. This means the resources you need to assess, plan, intervene, and monitor are all connected within the pathway itself, reducing the time you spend searching and letting you focus on the work that matters.
Search Front and Centre
Search has always been a core part of how practitioners use PEN, and the new interface makes it the primary action on the homepage. You will find a prominent search bar front and centre, so accessing the latest evidence is faster than ever.
A Guided Homepage Experience
For new users and experienced practitioners alike, the redesigned homepage now includes a "What You'll Find" section that clearly highlights PEN's four key content areas: What's New, Knowledge Pathways, Practice Recommendations, and Client Handouts. This gives you an immediate, intuitive entry point every time you log in, so you can orient yourself quickly and get to work.
Everything You Relied On Is Still Here
We want to be clear: nothing has been removed. Every resource, tool, knowledge pathway, and client handout you have used before is still accessible in the new system. The goal of this update was to make PEN more powerful and easier to use, not to change what has made it valuable to dietitians and dietetic learners for more than two decades.
Log in using your existing credentials. *No account changes or setup are required.
COPD Nutrition: What really makes a difference?
Can nutrition improve outcomes for people living with COPD? Explore the latest evidence on oral nutrition supplements and dietary interventions, including their impact on body weight, exercise tolerance, quality of life, and pulmonary rehabilitation.
The Question
Do nutritional supplements / dietary advice benefit individuals with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?
Key Practice Point #1: Oral Nutrition Supplements
Recommendation
In adults affected by stable COPD, oral nutrition supplements may improve anthropometric measures, exercise tolerance and quality of life, but do not appear to affect respiratory function.
Grade of Evidence: C
*Grade C - The conclusion is supported by limited evidence or expert opinion
Remarks
Participants in the included studies were affected by stable COPD (no acute exacerbation in the previous month). Most oral nutrition supplements were provided as a liquid nutrition supplement (~200-400 kcal/day with >50% calories from carbohydrates) for a median of 12 weeks and included a rehabilitation program.
Key Practice Point #2: Dietary Advice
Recommendation
Pulmonary rehabilitation programs that also have a nutritional component may improve health outcomes (e.g. functional, nutrient intake, body composition, quality of life) in individuals living with COPD; however, it is difficult to determine whether benefits are due to the overall rehabilitation program or to the nutrition intervention itself.
Grade of Evidence: C
*Grade C - The conclusion is supported by limited evidence or expert opinion
Remarks
A wide variety of dietary interventions were included in the studies with 64% delivered by a dietitian as part of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program: general or individualized nutrition advice, guidance for healthy eating, Mediterranean diet, high calorie food/supplements.
Read the full practice question (3 min read) →.
Breathe Easier with Good Nutrition: Eating Well with COPD
The right nutrition can help people with COPD stay strong, improve their energy, and make everyday activities easier.
In this client handout, discover:
✔ practical eating tips,
✔ meal planning strategies, and
✔ symptom-specific advice
To help individuals manage COPD and support overall health.
View our handout here.
PEN eNews
July 2026 Volume
16 (7)
A Publication of the PEN® System Global Partners,
a collaborative partnership between International Dietetic Associations.
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