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 Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Conflict of interestThe author works for Wiltshire Farm Foods, one of the founding partners of the Malnutrition Task Force
Received: 10 October 2016
Accepted: 12 January 2017
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