Causes, assessment and treatment of malnutrition in older people
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence & Practice Previous     Next

Causes, assessment and treatment of malnutrition in older people

Helen Willis Dietitian, product development, apetito, United Kingdom

Malnutrition is a growing problem in the UK with as many as 14% of people aged over 65 at risk. It is of particular concern in care homes where more than one third of residents are undernourished. Weight loss is not the only symptom of malnourishment and nurses should examine any changes to a person’s health and well-being to identify causes. Regular monitoring of patients’ risk of malnutrition through use of screening assessments, such as the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, ensures undernourishment is identified early. As the population ages, it is more important than ever that the implications of malnutrition are recognised and addressed.

Nursing Older People. 29, 2, 20-25. doi: 10.7748/nop.2017.e883

Correspondence

Helen.Willis@apetito.co.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

The author works for Wiltshire Farm Foods, one of the founding partners of the Malnutrition Task Force

Received: 10 October 2016

Accepted: 12 January 2017

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more