CSP Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CSP exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 CSP Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CSP Topics to Study (37)
✍️ Sample CSP Questions & Answers
1. A dietitian is counseling an adolescent athlete with relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S). Which finding most directly confirms inadequate energy availability?
Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea resulting from low energy availability is a hallmark clinical indicator of RED-S in female athletes.
2. A 6-month-old on continuous nasogastric tube feeding develops diarrhea and abdominal distension. Which intervention should be assessed first?
Diarrhea and distension during tube feeding first require systematic evaluation of formula concentration, infusion rate, and hygienic preparation to identify a correctable cause.
3. Which of the following is a recognized consequence of catch-up growth occurring too rapidly in a severely malnourished infant?
Rapid refeeding of severely malnourished children can cause refeeding syndrome, characterized by dangerous shifts in phosphate, potassium, and magnesium as anabolic processes resume, potentially causing cardiac and neurologic complications.
4. Which amino acid becomes conditionally essential in infants with metabolic stress or prematurity?
Glutamine becomes conditionally essential during metabolic stress and prematurity due to increased demand and insufficient endogenous synthesis.
5. A 3-year-old child's mid-parental height target is calculated at the 60th percentile. The child is currently at the 15th percentile for height. Which evaluation is most warranted?
A significant discrepancy between a child's current height percentile and the mid-parental target warrants investigation including bone age and endocrine evaluation to rule out growth hormone deficiency or other pathology.
6. Refeeding syndrome is most likely to occur in which pediatric patient?
Refeeding syndrome occurs in severely malnourished individuals when nutrition is reintroduced, causing shifts in phosphate, potassium, and magnesium into cells.