Up to 40 per cent of hospital patients in the UK and nearly a fifth of elderly nursing home residents are suffering f rom malnutrition. A pioneering research team has been set up by the University of Southampton to identify those at risk and to develop effective, low-cost ways of preventing and curing malnutrition in both the community and hospitals. It is hoped the research programmes will provide the basis for a national programme. Obesity is one of the biggest concerns in medicine but we should not forget that a significant proportion of people in this country is under-nourished and this places a huge demand on health care services.
Some people are obviously very thin.
Many others look fine but are under-nourished in terms of vitamins because they are not getting enough nutrient rich foods. The problem today is we consume 700 calories a day less than we did 30 or 40 years ago but lead much less active lives. The quality of food is also not as good which means it is harder to extricate the necessary vitamins and m inerals. Malnutrition is much more common in the UK than people think especially among the elderly. Some five per cent of adults are defined as malnourished and that figure rises to a massive 40 per cent of hospital patients.