Managing malnutrition: identifying and treating unintentional weight loss in adults

Malnutrition is defined as a state of nutrition in which deficiency or excess of energy, protein and other nutrients causes measurable adverse effects on body composition, function and clinical outcome. Malnutrition exists across all healthcare settings, with prevalence ranging from 10 to 30% in the community, 30 to 50% in the acute care setting and 40 to 70% in the residential aged care setting. Despite it being a major health concern internationally and in Australia, malnutrition continues to be under-recognised and therefore under-treated.