PIP taking nutrition: how to describe your difficulties
A calm, practical guide to the PIP taking nutrition activity (Question 4 on the PIP2 form). Understand what the DWP is looking for, how to describe your difficulties with eating and drinking, and see example notes. This is reference-only and not legal, medical, or benefits advice.
What this activity covers
Activity 2 on the PIP assessment is about your ability to eat and drink. In PIP terms, “taking nutrition” means cutting food into pieces, conveying food and drink to your mouth, chewing, and swallowing. It also covers taking nutrition through a therapeutic source such as a feeding tube or PEG feed.
This activity is separate from preparing food (Activity 1). Preparing food is about cooking. Taking nutrition is about the physical and mental act of actually eating and drinking once the food is in front of you.
The DWP says that the quality of what you eat is not directly relevant to this activity. What matters is whether you can physically eat and drink, whether you need help or prompting to do so, and whether you can do it safely and reliably. However, if a mental health condition means you do not eat at all without prompting, or you eat so poorly that your health is at risk, that is relevant because it shows you need support to take nutrition.
How the DWP scores this activity
You are matched to the one descriptor that applies to you for more than half of the time. If more than one applies, you get the points for the highest scoring one that is true for the majority of days.
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can take nutrition unaided | 0 |
| Needs to use an aid or appliance to take nutrition, or supervision to take nutrition, or assistance to cut up food | 2 |
| Needs a therapeutic source to take nutrition | 2 |
| Needs prompting to be able to take nutrition | 4 |
| Needs assistance to manage a therapeutic source to take nutrition | 6 |
| Cannot convey food and drink to their mouth and needs another person to do so | 10 |
“Prompting” means being reminded, encouraged, or having things explained by another person. “Assistance” means physical help from another person. “Supervision” means someone watching over you to keep you safe while you eat or drink.
Writing your notes for this activity
Examples: describing taking nutrition difficulties
Below are examples of how you might describe your difficulties with this activity. These are for illustration only and should not be copied into your own form. Always describe your own experience.
“I cannot hold a standard knife and fork because my hands shake and I have very little grip strength. I use adapted cutlery with thick handles and a plate guard to stop food sliding off the plate. Even with these I spill food most meals. I cannot cut meat or anything that needs firm pressure, so my partner cuts my food for me before I eat. I also use a two-handled cup because I have dropped cups of hot liquid several times and scalded myself.”
“On bad days I do not eat at all unless someone prompts me. I have no appetite and no motivation to sit down and eat, even if food is already made. My partner has to tell me to eat and sometimes brings the food to me in bed. Without that prompting I would go the whole day without eating, which happens when my partner is at work. I have lost over a stone in the last six months because of this. Bad days happen four or five days a week.”
“I regularly forget to eat. I do not notice I am hungry until I feel dizzy or sick, which usually means I have gone most of the day without food. Even when food is in front of me I get distracted and leave it. My housemate reminds me to eat at mealtimes, and without that I would miss most meals. When I do eat I often do not finish because I get up to do something else and forget to come back.”
“I have been assessed by a speech and language therapist and I am on a soft food diet because of my swallowing difficulties. I choke on food at least twice a week, even with the modified texture. My wife stays in the room whenever I eat in case I choke. I also use thickened fluids because thin liquids make me cough and splutter. Eating takes me about 45 minutes because I have to take very small mouthfuls and chew everything very carefully.”
Using GuidedPIPs
GuidedPIPs walks you through the taking nutrition activity with guided prompts tailored to your conditions. It helps you describe your difficulties step by step, covering aids, prompting, supervision, and variability, so you do not have to figure out the structure on your own.
You can start for free and decide whether full access is right for you.