Undernutrition and elderly hospital patients: a review

Numerous surveys have revealed that many hospital patients are undernourished. Elderly patients are particularly vulnerable to the adverse consequences of undernourishment. Slow acquisition and application of available knowledge has been blamed as a principle reason for lack of progress in tackling the problem of 'hospital malnutrition'. This paper provides a resumé of the knowledge accumulated from research with the purpose of promoting active and informed nursing involvement in the detection and management of undernutrition in hospital wards.