Under-nutrition in old age: diagnosis and management

Abstract

A recent international definition of under-nutrition or malnutrition has been given by the WHO. Mal-nutrition means ‘badly nourished’ but it is more than a measure of what we eat, or fail to eat. Clinically, malnutrition is characterized by inadequate intake of protein, energy, and micronutri-ents and by susceptibility to infection or disease. Nutritional status is the result of the complex interaction between the food we eat, our overall state of health, and the environment in which we live – in short, food, health and caring are the three ‘pillars of well-being’.