Across the UK, tens of thousands of adults and children rely on feeding tubes or medical dietary modifications due to complex gastrointestinal conditions. Thousands more struggle to eat because of digestive disorders, meaning adult portions are often impossible to manage safely.

Despite this, adults with medical conditions are frequently refused access to smaller or children’s portions in restaurants, because staff assume they are simply trying to pay less or “act like a child.” These refusals leave people isolated, in physical pain, and excluded from social dining experiences.

 

Why This Matters:

I live with gastroparesis and intestinal dysmotility, which partially paralyses my stomach and intestines. I experience daily chronic abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, and reflux. I also have two surgical feeding tubes: one drains my stomach to reduce vomiting, and the other provides direct nutrition. 

Eating is never simple for people like me. Every meal is a careful calculation about what will cause the least pain and physical harm, while still allowing some digestive function and preserving mental wellbeing. Children’s menu meals are essential: they are smaller, plainer, easier to manage, and reduce waste if we cannot finish them.

Restaurants often ignore these needs. In my recent experience, a request for a children’s portion was completely ignored, and an adult portion was put through instead. When I challenged this, staff were rude and unhelpful. This is not an isolated case—many adults with medical conditions report being refused meals, challenged, or made to feel like a burden.

What We Want to Change:

Adults with medical conditions must be allowed to order children’s menu meals without refusal or judgement.
Recognition of medical cards, such as those issued by PINNT, to signal dietary needs without interrogation.
Staff training and awareness about invisible illnesses and dietary requirements for medical reasons.
Flexibility in restaurant portion sizes to make dining out safe and inclusive.

Refusing medically necessary smaller portions may violate the Equality Act 2010, which requires businesses to make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers.

Why Support This Petition:

Adults with medical conditions already face immense physical and emotional challenges. Being refused appropriate meals adds isolation, stress, and harm.
Eating safely is critical—not optional. Children’s portions reduce pain, vomiting, bloating, and other serious symptoms.
Inclusion matters. Social dining should not come with judgement, humiliation, or exclusion.
Raising awareness can save others from painful and avoidable experiences.

And finally: 

No one chooses to live with these conditions.

No one should feel excluded or judged for trying to adapt to them.

It is time for restaurants to listen, understand, and accommodate adults with medical needs, ensuring everyone can dine safely and with dignity.

 

Sign this petition to demand that adults with medical conditions can order children’s meals without refusal or judgement.