This review article examines the effect of nutrition on the functional state of an organism with persistent disorders. The assessment of nutrition given in the current research shows that it does not match the needs of such an organism. Statistics for the Russian Federation reveal that the number of disabled people in the country is on an upward trend, which is of high prognostic significance in the context of investigating their nutritional status. Seeking to raise awareness about the nutritional problems of disabled persons in specialized boarding communities, we analyzed research papers on the subject published within the last 20 years. The analysis of works by Russian and foreign authors revealed the need for a unified methodology and scientific substantiation of the nutritional status assessment criteria. We have also found that the assessment of anthropometric indicators in this population is fraught with difficulties: using body mass index (BMI) as the sole measure for diagnosing eating disorders is insufficient. Current scientific literature on nutrition for people with disabilities is diverse and covers a wide range of aspects, highlighting the complexity of the considered problem. Still, the number of studies investigating the features of nutrition and health status of people with chronic diseases is insufficient, which underlines the importance of continuing scientific work in this direction. This will allow for a deeper understanding of the specifics of maintaining an optimal level of health and meeting the nutritional needs of people with disabilities, taking into account existing socio-economic difficulties.