Malnutrition

Eating a healthy, balanced diet plays a vital part in maintaining a good

level of all-round health and fitness and will avoid malnutrition.
Brought to you by NHS Choices
In order to stay healthy, we need to consume foods from a number of different
food groups including:

 carbohydrates,

 proteins,

 fats, and

 dairy.

A healthy, balanced diet also includes eating a minimum of five daily portions
of fruit and vegetables, many of which contain essential vitamins and
minerals.

An inadequate diet can cause malnutrition

An inadequate diet can lead to malnutrition. Malnutrition is a condition which is
caused by an imbalance between what a person eats and the nutrients that
they need to maintain good health.

Malnutrition commonly occurs when someone does not eat enough food (sub-
nutrition). However, it can also occur if a person has a poor diet that provides
them with an incorrect balance of the basic food groups listed above.

Therefore, it is possible for an obese person, whose diet consists mainly of

‘fast food’, to be malnourished because this type of food lacks the nutrients
that their body requires.

An inadequate diet can also lead to a person having a deficiency of one, or

more, vitamins, minerals, or other essential substances.
For example, a vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency can occur if a person does
not include enough fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet. This can lead to a
condition called scurvy.

See the ‘useful links’ section for more information about scurvy.

Who is affected by malnutrition?

In the UK, it is estimated that, at any one time, at least two million people are
affected by malnutrition.

Anyone can become malnourished if, over a prolonged period of time, they do
not consume enough food to fulfil their nutritional needs, or if they have an
unhealthy diet. However, the groups who are most at risk from malnutrition
are:

 the elderly - particularly those who are in hospital, or institutionalised,

 people with low incomes, or those who are socially isolated,
 people with chronic (long-term) disorders - for example, eating disorders,
such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, and
 people who are recovering from a serious illness, or condition - particularly
those with  a condition that affects their ability to eat, such as a stroke.

Symptoms
Malnutrition can have a number of adverse effects on the body. If you are
malnourished, your body will slow down and it will not work as well as usual.

The adverse effects of malnutrition

Typical adverse effects of malnutrition include:

 reduced muscle and tissue mass,

 decreased mobility and stamina as a result of muscle wasting,

  breathing difficulties, and an increased risk of chest infection and respiratory
failure,

 wounds take longer to heal and illnesses take longer to recover from,

 slower immune response which increases the risk of getting infections, and
increases the length of time that it takes to recover from infection,

 difficulty staying warm as a result of having less muscle and tissue mass,
increasing the risk of hypothermia (the inability to maintain normal body
temperature), and

 poor libido (sex drive) and fertility problems.

If you are malnourished, there is also an increased chance that you will
develop post-operative complications should you need to have surgery for
another medical condition.

In some cases, malnutrition can also lead to feelings of apathy (indifference),

tiredness, and depression.

Causes
Malnutrition is caused by a lack of essential nutrients, resulting in the inability
of the body to function as efficiently as normal. A lack of nutrients in the body
can be caused by a number of circumstances and conditions.

For example, in developing countries, such as in many African countries,

chronic (long-term) malnutrition is a large scale and ongoing problem, which is
the result of people not having enough food to eat on a daily basis.

In the UK, malnutrition is often be caused by:

 an inadequate diet,

 stomach conditions and digestive disorders, and

  alcoholism.

An inadequate diet
Not eating enough food to maintain proper body function, or eating an
imbalanced diet that does not provide you with the nutrients needed to
maintain a good, all round level of health, will cause you to become
malnourished.

An inadequate diet can occur for a number of reasons. For example, if you are
unwell, or you are recovering from an illness, such as a stroke, throat or
mouth cancer, or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), you may
develop dysphagia.

Dysphagia can arise as a complication of these conditions and, for some

people, it makes it difficult to swallow certain foods, or liquids. Some people
with dysphagia are completely unable to swallow.

See the ‘useful links’ section for more information about dysphagia.

Mental health conditions, such as depression, can sometimes make you feel
like not eating and can lead to malnutrition. Similarly, eating disorders, such
as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, can also result in malnutrition because the
amount of food that is consumed by someone with an eating disorder is often
very low.

See the ‘useful links’ section for more information about anorexia nervosa and
bulimia.

Mobility problems, which are particularly common among the elderly, are
another potential cause of malnutrition, as they can prevent people getting to
the shops to buy food, or from preparing food for themselves.

Stomach conditions and digestive disorders

If the food that you eat is not digested properly, your body will be unable to
absorb the nutrients that it needs to function effectively.
For example, if you have a stomach, or digestive, condition, such as ulcerative
colitis (a condition that affects the large intestine, or colon), or Crohn’s disease
(a condition that causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract), you may
need to have a surgical procedure which is known as an ileostomy.

An ileostomy involves removing part of the small intestine. In some cases, the
colon (large intestine) and rectum (back passage) may also need to be
removed. If you have an ileostomy, you will need to have a low fibre diet for
the first few months after the procedure, and you may need to take vitamin
supplements until you are able to resume a normal diet.

See the ‘useful links’ section for more information about ileostomies.

Coeliac disease is a bowel condition that is caused by intolerance to a protein

called gluten. In coeliac disease, the immune system mistakes gluten as being
harmful and attacks it, damaging the lining of the intestines (gut) so that it is
unable to absorb food properly.

If you have coeliac disease, you will need to exclude gluten from your diet,
and you may also need to take vitamin and mineral supplements. See the
‘useful links’ section for more information about coeliac disease.

Diarrhoea and vomiting can also lead to t