Editorial

Citation

Blades, M. (2009), "Editorial", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 39 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2009.01739faa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 6.

Malnutrition is considered by the British Association of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) to be a state of nutrition in which a deficiency, excess or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients to cause measurable effects on body functions and clinical outcomes.

While obesity due to the excessive intake of energy and adverse effects on health can be considered a form of malnutrition more often malnutrition is considered to be a form of under-nutrition.

Indeed the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) defines it in terms of the following:

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    body mass index (BMI) below 18.5;

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    unintentional weight loss of more than 10 per cent during the last 3-6 months; and

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    a BMI below 20 plus unintentional weight loss of more than 5 per cent during the last 3-6 months.

The prevalence of such under-nutrition varies from 5 per cent in the general population to up to 40 per cent in those in hospital. The consequences of such problems are linked with:

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    muscle weakness resulting in shallow breathing, difficulty in movements and gripping items;

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    weight loss plus a feeling of coldness due to loss of insulation from body fat;

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    apathy and depression leading to neglecting to eat properly or look after ones self which can often be linked with the inadequate energy intake plus anaemias;

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    impaired immune responses with a greater risk of infections;

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    tissue breakdown such as occurs in leg ulcers and pressure sores plus poor wound healing;

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    osteoporosis and osteomalacia with an increased risk of fractures; and

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    constipation due to a lack of fluid and fibre.

It is considered that it costs the NHS in the UK around £13 billion per year coping with the consequences of malnutrition such as are detailed above and which often cause extended stays in hospital plus more visits to the GP.

Those involved with hospital care and also care in the community are encouraged to screen individuals for malnutrition. One of the tools that can be used is the MUST tool (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool) this is very easy to use and relies on a simple scoring system mainly based on BMI and unintentional weight loss plus food consumption and consideration of health problems.

It can be found at www.bapen.org.uk

While this edition of Nutrition and Food Science does not focus on malnutrition papers could have an impact on this area with the following:

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    Total phenols and vitamin C content of fruits being of help both in the role as an antioxidant as well as assisting the absorption of iron.

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    Exploratory study of students intakes of non-alcoholic beverages is helpful as there is increasing concern about the excessive alcohol intake in young people and its impact not just on health but on social issues. Obviously the worrying side of excess alcohol consumption is related to obesity, liver disease and cancer plus the effect alcoholism has on nutrient intake.

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    Responding to eating disorders in sport is a really useful paper for dietician, nutritionists, fitness instructors and coaches written by experts in the subject of eating disorders. With the forthcoming Olympics in the UK more attention is focussing on sport. Unfortunately sports people are shown to have a greater incidence of eating disorders. This paper includes a simple screening questionnaire called the “SCOFF questionnaire” for assessing an eating disorder plus excellent information on good preventative practice regarding nutrition plus where to access treatment and support.

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    Panelists liking of canola and other similar vegetables such as greens. This provides an interesting examination of green vegetables and their acceptability. Such dark green vegetables are an important source of antioxidants and tend to be neglected in the present diet.

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    Anti-nutritional contents of products look at the often neglected area of substances that have an anti-nutritional effect. This is important especially where diets are marginal in certain nutrients.

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    Consumer awareness and information sources of food safety. This focuses on consumers and what they know as regards basic food safety plus where they obtain information on the topic. Knowledge of this area is invaluable to anyone teaching or providing information on food safety.

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    Rutin alters fatty acid composition in diabetic tissues. Rutin is a flavanoid compound found in whole grains. Flavanoids are considered to have various effects including acting in some instances as antioxidants.

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    Effects of low fat and low GI diets on health provides information on the use of such diets in weight loss. With various types of diets being used this research of the comparisons of health benefits of participants on the two different diets makes useful reading especially when obese individuals may have additional health problems.

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    Influence of socio-economic status and ethnicity on children's excess body weight from Greece shows the groups of children who are vulnerable to excessive weight gain due to an intake of excessive calories plus a lack of activity. This information can be helpful to anyone wishing to target campaigns for assisting weight loss for children.

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    Nutrient values for Australian and overseas chicken meat is a helpful update on the nutritional composition of chicken which will be useful to anyone producing chicken products.

Mabel Blades