New malnutrition resources for patients, carers and professionals

People living with a medical condition or illness may lose their appetite and be worried about losing weight without trying. 

They may also be at risk of what’s known as disease-related malnutrition.   

Living with a medical condition or illness can make it more difficult to eat, digest or absorb food. This means the body may not be getting all the nutrients it needs to keep it healthy, which can lead to poor nutritional health. 

This in turn puts them at risk of disease-related malnutrition, even if they are overweight or normally eat well.  

Disease-related malnutrition can affect your quality of life. It can 

• Affect how well your body works 
• Affect recovery from illness 
• Cause you to feel weak  
• Increase your chance of getting an infection 
• Cause wounds to heal more slowly than normal. 
  

More than three million people in the UK are at risk of malnutrition and many are unaware of the danger.  But there are treatments and support for patients, and with the right knowledge, tools, and support, patients can manage their nutritional health. 

Care England has developed resources to help identify the risk for disease-related malnutrition. They describe how oral nutritional supplements can be used as a treatment for disease-related malnutrition, and provide tips on where to get advice and further information.

The resources were developed in partnership with patients and carers, supported by a steering group made up of clinicians, experts in nutritional health, and patient advocates. This project was supported by an educational grant from Nutricia Ltd. 

The Patients Association has been working with patients, carers and experts in the field of nutritional health to create a set of resources to help individuals who are experiencing problems eating, unintentional weight loss or poor nutrition due to disease-related malnutrition. 

Both factsheets can be downloaded here: About Disease-Related Malnutrition, About Oral Nutritional Supplements.

For further information click here. 

Photo Credit – Obi Onyeador