Nutrition assessment in long-term care facilities

Elderly LTCF residents pose a challenging problem in terms of nutrition assessment at all three levels: intake, macronutrient, and micronutrient. In terms of macronutrient status, the focus of this work, newer techniques such as BIA and indirect calorimetry offer the promise of more accurate and widespread assessment in LTCFs. Future work will need to focus on the cost-effectiveness of this approach and on demonstrating that improved nutrition assessment can lead to better nutrition therapy and improved outcome.